In a joint statement, the Malaysian Medical Association, Malaysian Dental Association, Malaysian Pharmaceutical Association, Malaysian Association of Medical Assistants and the Malaysian Nurses Association welcomed the government’s announcement that it has postponed the removal of the incentive, or BIPK, pending further discussion by the Cabinet.
“We were especially concerned that the BIPK will not be provided to new dentists, doctors, medical assistants, nurses and pharmacists starting their service after that date (Jan 1).
“As responsible partners of the government, we urge them to reinstate the BIPK. In addition, we urge the government to appropriately improve the terms of service of all health professionals to retain talent inside the civil service,” the statement said.
The associations said they support the government’s measures to be fiscally responsible and to demonstrate good financial governance.
While acknowledging that the BIPK is not a permanent allocation, they said they are disappointed that the 2019 review determined that 33 service categories no longer fulfil the talent attraction criteria, including the five largest categories of staff in the health ministry.
“The current oversupply of health professionals is partially because the health ministry needs more posts to deliver effective healthcare to Malaysians.
“Our 130,000 dentists, doctors, medical assistants, nurses and pharmacists save lives in cities, villages and remote jungles from Arau to Tuaran. They work long hours in an underfunded, understaffed, overworked and overstretched service, sacrificing nights, weekends and holidays at physical and emotional cost to themselves and their families.
“This decision could reduce the effectiveness of the health services, already suffering from fewer positions and an emphasis on contract over permanent posts,” their statement said.
In the short-term, the associations said morale and stature of the health professions could be negatively affected.
“In the long-term, we could reduce our ability to attract talented Malaysians to our health service and see more departures to the private sector or to other countries.
“All this could reduce the effectiveness of our health services, which will affect the health and well-being of all Malaysians,” the statement said.
The associations said the BIPK can be 15% to 25% of take-home pay, “a significant amount when the cost of living is rising”.
“The private healthcare sector in Malaysia and internationally already pays much more than our public sector, even including the BIPK.
“Therefore, appropriately increasing the salaries of our health professionals is the correct direction. The Malaysian public healthcare services cannot lose the human capital that we have invested in over the years, especially to other countries,” the statement added.