KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — The appointment of 12,800 permanent doctors will take into account medical officers who have completed graduate training and are fully registered with the Malaysian Medical Council and meet the requirements for permanent appointment.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the Ministry of Health (MOH) is committed and will follow up on the matter so that staffing and appointment matters can be managed in an orderly and effective manner.

"Apart from that, the Ministry of Health is also fine-tuning other issues related to contract medical officers including the feedback collected during the Townhall session on Feb 22, 2023.

"This matter will be presented to the High-Level Committee (HLC) which was established based on the government's decision on March 31," she said in a statement today.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that a total of 12,800 of the 20,330 contractually appointed doctors will be absorbed into permanent positions within three years with an additional allocation of RM1.7 billion.

Commenting further, Dr Zaliha said the government is also studying the extension of the locum allowance to officers in the management and professional groups at MOH besides medical officers.

"Apart from that, the Ministry of Health will continue with contract appointments for the purpose of graduate training (housemanship) which also gives implications to the increase in the cost of the Ministry of Health's emoluments every year," she said. — Bernama