THE ongoing plight of contract doctors in Malaysia, who have been made to do national service in this period of the Covid-19 pandemic at government hospitals throughout the country, demands justice.
All that they are justifiably asking for is that their terms of contract and service be reviewed so that they will have an opportunity to pursue specialisation and aim for a progressive career in their chosen medical profession.
The government’s knee-jerk response to grant contract doctors a mere two years’ tenure leaves the doctors in a quandary. They rightfully ask what certainty is there that at the end of the temporary two-year extension of their contract, they will eventually be offered a permanent appointment.
So far, the Health Ministry has not given any assurance to these contract doctors that they will be absorbed as full-timers.
Such is the predicament of these doctors, who have been slogging over the past few months to save the lives of those who have contracted Covid-19, who now number over a million.
Patriot is fully aware that our young doctors are stressed out, with insufficient rest and working long, gruelling hours under extreme duress and challenging conditions.
Being contract doctors, they are not entitled to the full benefits enjoyed by those with permanent employment.
Is the Health Ministry blind to the fact that these young contract doctors are doing their best to save precious lives despite the inherent risks to their own safety and well-being?
Is the work and commitment put in by these frontliners not worthy of honour and motivation, as they continue their service to the nation?
If this is not sheer exploitation, then what is it, pray tell us?
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in a recent statement said the government will look into proposals to resolve contract doctors’ predicament.
But, Patriot has yet to see an efficacious resolve. On the contrary, what we see is the dishing out of threats against doctors gearing towards staging a protest out of sheer desperation and due to the betrayal by the government.
How can our leaders disregard the crucial need for, and importance and role of, our medical staff, especially when the country is battling a pandemic of unprecedented proportions?
The Health Ministry and other agencies involved in managing the Covid-19 scourge are being increasingly and widely perceived as performing poorly and unprofessionally.
The steady, daily increase in infections and deaths is a cause for grave concern.
In this climate of great national peril, Patriot demands to know whether the Health Ministry is concerned about losing our precious young doctors.
Based on news reports, we understand that the ministry has said the government is unable to provide permanent employment to these doctors because of budget deficits.
But, we seek to know how over RM1 million in monthly salaries can be budgeted for the prime minister and 20 of his ministers?
We are not even talking about the bloated 70-member cabinet, including deputies, and other political appointees whose total monthly salaries – not including their perks and benefits – run into the multiple millions of ringgit, taking a huge chunk of the country’s wealth.
The Health Ministry itself has one minister and two deputies. And yet, our young and aspiring doctors, who are the very backbone of the nation’s healthcare system, are being treated without honour and motivation. This is detrimental to the interests of the larger context of nation-building.
If ministers and their deputies are handsomely paid for work that the public does not see and feel, why are young doctors, who are perpetually under pressure to save lives, being paid a pittance and dumped into the chute of uncertainty?
Patriot wishes to state without fear or favour that the health minister and prime minister must bear the full brunt of the numerous failures in our battle against Covid-19, a national enemy.
Not only are doctors being sidelined, but even the health facilities that are much needed to battle the virus leave much to be desired.
Patriot believes that the growth and strengthening of our nation’s healthcare services is inadequate to meet our growing population and its inherently changing profile. Towns and cities are growing at a rapid pace throughout the country, but where are the hospitals, polyclinics and related facilities to provide comprehensive healthcare to citizens?
The action taken by these contract doctors to resign and/or protest at a crucial time should never have happened.
Patriot believes, and advocates strongly, that our contract doctors must be granted permanent employment and career pathways to excel in the interests of our nation. And, issues relating to their wages, allowances and other benefits deserve to be reviewed. There should be no racial profiling, and instead, purely the increasing and improving of Malaysia’s healthcare capabilities.
Contract doctors have a legitimate, honourable and going concern, and Patriot stands by them in this hour of crucial need. While some may plead that doctors must remember their oath of primum non nocere to patients, we remind the government – and Health Ministry, in particular – of its obligation to inspire, nurture and safeguard the nation’s human capital: our young doctors. – The Vibes, July 26, 2021
Brig Gen (Rtd) Datuk Mohd Arshad Raji is president of the National Patriots’ Association (Patriot)
