Asyraf said Mara has helped many doctors and pharmacists become entrepreneurs by opening branches under the U.n.i Klinik, U.n.i Dental and U.n.i Farmasi brands.

He said he will meet the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju), SME Bank, and Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) soon to discuss how government funds meant for entrepreneurs can be channelled to benefit contract doctors.

To open a clinic, the doctor must be registered with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and have undergone mandatory service at a government hospital.

“We will set up an ecosystem so that they (doctors) do not fail in this industry by providing entrepreneurial training, supervision and guidance,” Utusan Malaysia quoted him as saying.

“We will also prepare the supply chain so that the price of the equipment to be purchased is at the lowest.”

Asyraf said Mara will regulate the doctors’ charges to ensure they are not as expensive as other private clinics or as cheap as government clinics.

He said the fees will be “reasonable for the B40 and M40 income groups”.

Previously, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government would absorb 12,800 of the 20,333 contract doctors into permanent positions in stages over three years.

Asyraf said Mara needs to cooperate with third parties to secure funding as it is unable to help contract doctors own clinics that cost more than RM400,000.