He told the Dewan Rakyat that of the total, three specialists had returned to serve in the health ministry, while 70 were working in the private sector.
He also said the ministry was working to strengthen efforts to retain local talent, especially as countries such as Singapore continued to actively recruit Malaysian doctors.
In July, it was reported that Singapore’s health ministry had advertised walk-in interviews at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, offering an annual package of S$110,000 (RM385,000), housing, and other benefits.
The advertisement stated that graduates from Universiti Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia could apply for medical officer positions, while others would be hired as clinical associates with the same remuneration package.
Dzulkefly said he had raised the matter with his Singaporean counterpart, who explained that the hiring of Malaysian doctors was done by private recruitment agencies.
He also said the ministry was reviewing the implementation of bilateral agreements with key destination countries for Malaysian healthcare workers, including Saudi Arabia, Australia and Singapore.
The review was being done to ensure proper adherence to the World Health Organization’s Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.
“The goal (of the WHO code) is to ensure more ethical implementation and to minimise the impact on source countries, particularly those that are resource-poor or developing nations,” he said.
Last month, former minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan proposed that Malaysia seek compensation from Singapore for the full cost of subsidies spent on educating and training doctors and nurses who later took up employment in the island state.
He said that alternatively, Putrajaya could impose an additional levy, calculated monthly or annually, based on the contracts and income of Malaysian doctors and nurses working in Singapore, with verification provided by the Malaysian high commission there.
Postings in Sabah and Sarawak
Dzulkefly said the ministry had offered permanent appointments to 1,315 medical officers for postings in Sabah and Sarawak, but only 47% had accepted the offers and reported for duty.
He said the government remained committed to improving healthcare infrastructure and staffing in East Malaysia, and ensuring better distribution of medical personnel nationwide.