Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said a survey by the ministry also found that of the total number of doctors who left, 4.5% are currently working abroad.

He said 28% left due to personal reasons while 6% were offered jobs at public universities, 2.7% wished to pursue further studies, and 0.8% wanted to open their own clinics.

“The other 0.5% did not state any reason,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Fong Kui Lun (PH-Bukit Bintang), who asked about why medical officers left the public service sector during question time.

The minister said the government had implemented various initiatives to ensure that medical officers stay in the public sector, including setting the starting salary for contract officers in Grade UD41 at RM5,197, a significantly higher amount compared to other public service schemes.

He said the government had also appointed 9,822 medical officers to permanent posts between 2019 and 2023, with another 6,000 appointments to be made in 2024-2025.

Dzulkefly said the government likewise provides incentives for specialised studies through facilities such as full-paid study leave with federal training allowance and the skills training programme.