In a Twitter post, he said the issue of contract housemen and medical officers was a complex one.

He also said he would work with the Malaysian Medical Council and Public Service Department to find a fair solution.

Yesterday, non-profit medical group Malaysian Medics International (MMI) called for a review of the contract system for doctors at public hospitals, saying contract staff do the same job for less pay.

The contract positions were first introduced in 2016.

MMI chairman Dr Vikkineshwaran Siva Subramaniam said contract medical officers are placed under the UD41 salary bracket and earn RM3,100 while doctors who are permanent staff earn RM3,700 a month under the UD44 bracket. The allowances are also higher for permanent staff.

In his tweet, Dzulkefly said one short-term solution would be to award contract housemen a UD43 grade instead of UD41.

“Moving forward, the Pakatan Harapan government must plan well and take tough steps and decisions to produce high-quality graduates and doctors to meet the health challenges and needs of the nation.

“Some old policies need to be changed,” he said, adding that a 2012 moratorium pertaining to housemen will be reviewed.