KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — The alleged harassment by police towards those who supported contract doctors through the Code Black and Black Monday campaigns was a violation of healthcare workers’ human rights, the #HartalDoktorKontrak movement said today.

In a statement, the group made up of contract medical officers said it fully supports the Malaysian Medical Association’s (MMA) condemnation of the actions authorities took to intimidate healthcare workers.

"All kinds of harassment by law enforcers must be stopped immediately and the healthcare workers who are the frontliners in the battle against Covid-19 must be treated with dignity and respect,” it said.

"Their rights and freedom to express their solidarity with contract doctors by supporting the Hartal Doktor Kontrak movement and Black Monday campaign by MMA is not a violation of the law and any harassment or attempt to curtail their voices is indeed a violation to their human rights.”

The group also urged doctors to continue to support their cause despite the threats they have received, adding that the movement will not back down before getting their demands met.

"At this juncture we would like to stress that the demands made by Hartal Doktor Kontrak movement shall be met despite the current political uncertainty in this country, for the sake of the future of contract doctors and the future of Malaysia’s healthcare in general.

The MMA and allied healthcare workers organisations have been pushing the government to increase the number of permanent positions for contract doctors for some time, arguing that the lack of such positions makes it difficult to create new medical specialists amid a personnel shortage, and drives potential doctors away from Malaysia to seek better prospects abroad.

It estimated that 15,000 healthcare workers have come out in support of the campaigns on social media since its launch. Black Monday took place yesterday, where doctors wear black after a 12-day duration for Code Black campaign on social media.

This comes ahead of a separate strike organised by the hartal movement which is organised by a group of contract doctors, set for July 26.

Contract doctors get unequal pay compared to their permanent colleagues, face uncertainty over their contract extensions, and are also denied access to government’s programme for them to further their studies to become specialists.