The PSM chairman said 13 doctors from a public hospital in Perak recently moved to a private facility in Ipoh after being promised higher pay, exemplifying an issue that has been ongoing since the 1980s.
Jeyakumar proposed the creation of a commission independent of the public service department (JPA) that would manage various health service affairs, including salaries for around its 250,000 staff members.
He said the commission could, for example, re-model its pay structure after the National Heart Institute, which, despite being government-owned, operates as a private hospital under the health ministry.
“A separate health commission can set up something specific for doctors that would be more financially manageable,” the former Sungai Siput MP told FMT.
In April 2024, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the government was in the final stages of reviewing a proposal to set up a health service commission.
However, in August that year, the parliamentary special select committee on health shelved the proposal.
In its report, the select committee questioned whether the proposal would deliver meaningful reforms, noting that staffing and position decisions would still rest with JPA.
Jeyakumar called for greater privileges for specialist doctors in the public service, such as introducing mandatory sabbaticals to allow them to learn new techniques.
“Many doctors also like to conduct research. Create opportunities for them to get research grants after they become specialists,” he said.
Restore public health service pensions
Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy CEO Azrul Khalib also suggested the restoration of pensions for healthcare professionals, after reforms shifted the public service from a defined benefit pension system to a Employees’ Provident Fund contribution scheme for new civil servants.
“Taking away pensions from healthcare professionals was an own goal. Expecting people to work cheaply will push them into other areas to work,” Azrul told FMT.
Jeyakumar said restoring pensions for healthcare professionals tops off the list of perks that would induce doctors to stay in the public service.
“A sabbatical, research (grants) and also a pension would induce people to stay, even if they earn less (than those in the private sector),” he said.
Recruiting government doctors not illegal, but unethical
Both Jeyakumar and Azrul said it is lawful for private hospitals to make job offers to public healthcare professionals. “Malaysia is a free-market economy, where doctors and nurses are free to take up employment when they see opportunity,” added Azrul.
However, Jeyakumar also noted that some private healthcare groups often buy out the training bonds of government doctors and nurses. He described the practice as “unethical”, noting that the government has invested significantly in training these professionals, who are essential to the public health service.
“Only about 25% of doctors in the civil service, with more than five years of experience after specialty training, are available to cover the nation’s specialist roles.
“The other 75% are serving (in the public sector). However, the government hospitals look after 75% of inpatients, while the private hospitals only look after up to 25%.
“There’s a mismatch,” he said.