The 2017 Budget has brought some good news for the housemen who are waiting for their intake into hospital. The prime minister has announced that housemen will be taken in on a contract for two years, and another two years contract for medical officers (MOs). This is definitely good news for those who had been waiting for a long period.

However, we also would like to stress that intake for medical courses into public and government university must be limited based on their academic achievements. The key performance indicator (KPI) must be maintained so that the best of the best become doctors and not only those with the money to afford it. Even those graduating from overseas have to be the finest and these students must have to meet the minimum requirement to be accepted into these professional studies.

Doctors hold responsibilities over the patients’ health and well-being. If they do not meet the required qualification, what will happen to this profession in the future? The market will be flooded with doctors who are graduating every year, even from universities which are not recognise. We are sure the Health Ministry is aware of this situation but a prudent decision has to be taken to make sure we get the best from the best, and not half-past-six doctors.

Finally, there should be decrease in the working hours of housemen and MOs, so that more graduates can be taken into government hospitals, because we have received complaints that some of these housemen work between 14 to 15 hours a day. The long working hours could make them stressed and becoming inefficient while carrying out their duties.

Our suggestion to minimise working hours will be good to maintain the work quality and efficiency output of these doctors.

A CHANDRAKUMANAN is Pertubuhan Aduan Rakyat (PAR) Malaysia president.