KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 — Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa today warned healthcare workers rumoured to be gearing up for an unannounced strike nationwide that such a movement will not solve the problems at hand.
Acknowledging their dissatisfaction with the country’s healthcare system, Dr Zaliha suggested that the aggrieved parties talk out their issues face-to-face either through ministry officers or her personally while calling for all to think reasonably.
“I was informed that there will be an unannounced strike, whether it will happen or not, I myself am uncertain.
“As a doctor myself, I truly understand your problems and I am more determined than ever to resolve the issue at hand.
“If we could resolve it today, then by today we will do so, but we must understand that I need some time to look deeper into the issue so we can achieve the best outcome,” she said in a video posted on TikTok.
Earlier, health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah urged doctors and nurses in government hospitals not to take out their dissatisfaction with their work conditions on patients should they decide to go ahead with a strike.
Several news outlets have been reporting a healthcare crisis continuing in Malaysia even after the Covid-19 pandemic that affected emergency and trauma services is now under control.
The Malaysia Medical Association has also warned the Health Ministry not to ignore the concerns raised by the country’s doctors and nurses and to give serious attention to their calls for reforms to the entire public healthcare system.
