KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — A pressure group said the extent of the Health Ministry’s efforts to address bullying among healthcare workers (HCW) was unclear notwithstanding the launch of an online helpline.

Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) spokesman Dr Muhammad Yassin said while the MyHELP system introduced in 2022 allowed victims and witnesses to lodge complaints and reports, it was not clear what came of these.

"The ministry's management of bullying complaints is somewhat vague in terms of both implementation and effectiveness because the Ministry has not released the necessary data," he told Utusan Malaysia in a report today.

Dr Muhammad said there must be transparency about the follow-on action in order to foster confidence in the process, and urged the ministry to provide clear guidelines for this.

On Monday, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad said in a written parliamentary reply that new guidelines would be issued to tackle workplace bullying among public HCW.

This response was to Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yee Lee Wuen, who asked about the ministry’s efforts to eliminate bullying in government hospitals and clinics.

On October 16, Dr Dzulkefly said the ministry had begun investigating hospitals with reported bullying cases involving doctors, following the death of pathologist Dr Tay Tien Yaa at Lahad Datu Hospital.

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has also urged the authorities to investigate this and other alleged cases of bullying of public HCW in Sabah.

He said the government must send a clear and strong message that no form of bullying in healthcare will be tolerated.