The groups, led by Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) chief Dr Koh Kar Chai, said too many medical students essentially caused difficulties for contract doctors to be absorbed into permanent posts.

“While new permanent positions will be opened up yearly as announced, the number of new medical students in the country needs to be controlled, lest we return to square one in no time,” he said in a joint statement.

Come June, a total of 4,186 permanent positions will be created in the government health service — 3,586 medical officers, 300 dentists and 300 pharmacists. This will allow many doctors now on contract with the government to be absorbed into permanent positions.

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government will also open up 1,500 permanent positions for doctors every year from 2023 to 2025. In addition, he said that the ministry will open up posts for 800 medical officers and 70 dental specialists every year from 2023.

Koh said MMA, Gerakan Hartal Doktor Kontrak, Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia and Malaysian Medics International welcomed yesterday’s announcement by Khairy on the creation of the new posts in the medical service.

He hoped additional specialist positions would be added to achieve the target of having more than 18,000 specialists by 2025.

Last December, higher education minister Noraini Ahmad said 2,967 medical students graduated from higher learning institutions in 2020.

She said 958 graduates were from public universities (IPTA) and 2,009 from private institutions of higher learning (IPTS).

She said that under the health ministry’s 2016-2020 strategic plan, there was a target ratio of one doctor for every 400 citizens by 2025.

“To achieve this ratio, there needs to be an average of 4,000 new doctors every year,” Noraini said.

She added that her ministry would assess the intake capacity of medical students at public and private institutions of higher learning every five years.