Malaysia (Commonwealth Union)_ According to the latest statement from the health ministry, contract pharmacists and dentists of the 2016/2017 batch may submit an application for a permanent post with the Health Ministry using the Public Services Commission Job Registration System (SPA 9) between January 30 and February 12. The Health Minister Dr. Zaliha Mustafa announced the news and stated that this will be implemented following the recruiting procedure for dentists and pharmacists from the 2018, 2019, and 2020 batches, which began on January 6 and ended on January 21.
According to her announcement, a total of 242 contract dentists and 321 contract pharmacists from the 2016 and 2017 batches are eligible to apply for permanent posts. Dr. Zaliha encouraged the candidates to register with the SPA9 system and update their information. She expressed hopes that contract dentists and pharmacists from the 2016 and 2017 batches will be able to make the required preparations for the intake.
The announcement was made on the heels of a recent media report that Hartal Contract Pharmacists (Hartal Ahli Farmasi Kontrak) from the 2016/2017 batch had threatened to launch a walkout if their incorporation into the public service was not given enough consideration. In addition, they also asked the government to eliminate the interview process for permanent posts. A representative for the group also questioned why there are fewer permanent opportunities for pharmacists than for physicians.
The movement was established on January 21 when pharmacists from the 2016/2017 batch were unable to obtain clear explanations from the ministry and the Public Services Commission (PSC) regarding why their batch was not called for the next interview session in spite of being the oldest batch on contract. The representative also noted that physicians from the class of 2016 had been invited for interviews.
He said, “When some of us asked the PSC and the Health Ministry, we were told that we had been given chances twice previously, but when they called us for the first time in February 2020, there were vacancies for 30 pharmacists nationwide and they called almost 600 of us for the interview”. He further added that at the second interview which was held in June 2022, there were 400 openings for 1,500 applicants. According to Dr. Zaliha’s announcement on January 6, in 2023, the Health Ministry will provide a total of 4,914 permanent posts. She stated that there will be 4,263 posts for medical officers, 335 for dentists, and 316 for pharmacists.
In response to this statement, the representative stated that the proportion of permanent positions for pharmacists was only approximately 8 percent of those for physicians. He asked, “And when all these doctors get their placements, do they think the understaffed pharmacies can cater to the patients treated by the more than 4,200 doctors?” He added, “At the end of the day, patients will complain about us and blame us for the late distribution of medicines, but the issue is that we lack the manpower”. The movement, which began with just 100 participants, has received wide attention on social media.
While addressing the ministry, Zaliha recommended state health directors to assign staffing or human resources with job rotation, such as by deploying health clinic officers at hospitals to reduce burnout among officers. She also urged the board of directors to reconsider the necessity of extending the operating hours of health clinics in order to alleviate the overcrowding in hospital emergency departments. Regarding the allocation for the health ministry in the revised 2023 budget that will be presented on February 24, Zaliha expressed optimism that the ministry will receive a greater allocation than the RM32.41 billion it got in the previous fiscal year.
