KUALA LUMPUR – The government’s current policy of paying its weekend on-call allowance at the rate of RM9.16 per hour is an insult to doctors and all healthcare workers in the nation, said the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
Its president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said this in response to the Health Ministry’s (MoH) move to reject MMA’s proposal requesting to increase the weekend on-call allowance from the current rate to RM25 per hour.
The ministry reportedly said the daily on-call allowance for public holidays and weekends is RM220 per day (24 hours), thus RM9.16 per hour was an appropriate rate.
“We are utterly disappointed over the government’s outright rejection of our proposal. The MoH’s response stating that RM9.16 is an ‘appropriate’ rate is an insult to not only doctors but all healthcare workers in the country.
“Is the government even aware that there are waiters in the country who get paid a higher hourly rate than its doctors?
“Contrary to the MoH’s explanation, the amount is paid for 24 hours of work, which would not be paid had the doctor not worked,” Dr Azizan said in a statement, today.
She also described the ministry’s response as “inaccurate, insensitive and inefficient”, adding that the government was inefficient as the MoH took 10 months to respond to MMA after the previous town hall meeting.
Dr Azizan said the inaccurate information provided by the government on these issues has created false public perception.
“It should be noted that not all public healthcare doctors are entitled to the allowances mentioned.”
She said the entitlement to the various allowances depends on the doctor’s position and rank, and that most doctors do not receive such allowances stated in the government’s reply.
“From the MoH’s written response to MMA, it appears that the people in the position to make decisions may lack a clear understanding or are missing accurate information needed to decide on the proposed increase.
“If indeed the decision (to reject the increase in on-call allowance) was made without referring to accurate information, we wish to request that the government re-evaluate and reconsider its decision concerning the proposed on-call rate increase,” she said.
She reminded the government that it is not the first time that the MoH had issued inaccurate information in a statement, as a statement published earlier this year to explain the on-call allowance published in the media was factually incorrect.
The government had since not retracted its statement nor apologised for its mistake, she noted.
Dr Azizan also reminded the government of the high attrition rate in public healthcare.
From 2017 to 2022, contract medical officers’ resignations jumped by a whopping 1,131%. It was also reported that 890 specialists resigned from government service between 2018 and 2022; an average of more than four specialists leaving per week during that time.
She stressed that the frustration among doctors in public healthcare is a matter not to be taken lightly.
“There is concern that on top of the burnout many doctors are experiencing coupled with the low wages earned, issues like the stagnant on-call allowance may spark further frustration and brain drain.
“Doctors in public healthcare have not seen an increase in on-call allowance for over a decade.
“Taking into consideration inflation, the on-call allowance rate should be reviewed every five years,” she added. – November 4, 2023