Medical brain drain will continue if pay isn't improved, says Dr Sim
PETALING JAYA : Sarawak deputy premier Dr Sim Kui Hian has sounded a warning that the brain drain of doctors, especially from East Malaysia, will persist if the remuneration scheme isn't improved.
Sim, who is a cardiologist, said the brain drain would place greater strain on the national health service, the Borneo Post reported.
'We cannot continue with the notion that 'we are cheap and good'. In 2025, we are good, but we need to be paid better,' he was quoted as saying.
Sim's comments came in response to a call from the Malaysian Medical Association for the federal government to speed up reforms in the national health service in the face of recruitment efforts by neighbouring countries offering far more attractive compensation packages.
Sim said many doctors are burdened by rising living costs. 'Medicine may be a noble calling, but we must be realistic. Doctors have families to support, children to educate, and loans to repay, despite the strengthening ringgit,' he said.
Earlier today, the health ministry said it remained committed to retaining doctors and healthcare workers in Malaysia although it has no legal power to stop them from working abroad.
Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said among the measures taken by his ministry was to accelerate the appointment of contract doctors to permanent positions in light of the country's critical need for medical professionals.
Dzulkefly's assurance comes in the wake of a recruitment session by Singapore's health ministry , which is reportedly scheduled to be held at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur next month.
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