The ministry said it will open a new round of applications for permanent pharmacist positions next year, following the completion of the latest recruitment exercise involving only 600 permanent posts, Bernama reported.

“The ministry also confirms that the reserve status for candidates lapsed in October, in accordance with existing appointment procedures,” it said in a statement.

The ministry added that all eligible contract pharmacists, including those previously on a reserve list, must submit fresh applications when the new intake is announced.

“We remain committed to workforce planning that is transparent, merit-based, and aligned with service needs and approved staffing capacity,” the ministry said.

On Wednesday, Senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran was reported saying that a total of 730 government pharmacists had been left in limbo as promises to absorb them into permanent positions were unfulfilled.

He said these pharmacists had been told by the ministry that their applications had expired and that they were no longer on the waiting list.

He lamented that the batch will have to join the queue again by submitting new applications for permanent positions, which will number several hundred.

Lingeshwaran, a former director of the Sungai Bakap Hospital in Penang, had urged the health ministry to address this pressing issue as the contracts of these pharmacists will expire in April and July next year.