Docs on strike: Hundreds walk out of govt hospitals nationwide
Government contract doctors at around 15-20 hospitals carried out mass walkouts in a nationwide strike to demand job security and better career opportunities.
It is learnt that at least several hundred, if not thousands, turned up despite their superiors threatening to take disciplinary action against those who participated in the Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) protest.
Mostly clad in black and carrying placards and posters, the participants started leaving their respective health facilities...
Government contract doctors at around 15-20 hospitals carried out mass walkouts in a nationwide strike to demand job security and better career opportunities.
It is learnt that at least several hundred, if not thousands, turned up despite their superiors threatening to take disciplinary action against those who participated in the Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) protest.
Mostly clad in black and carrying placards and posters, the participants started leaving their respective health facilities in unison at 11am.
Among the locations that saw a significant number of participants included the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Sungai Buloh Hospital, Shah Alam Hospital, Malacca Hospital, Penang Hospital, Serdang Hospital, Selayang Hospital, Ampang Hospital, Putrajaya Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Raja Perempuan Zainab Hospital in Kota Baru, Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, and Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang.
Malaysiakini estimates that there were nearly 100 participants at Sungai Buloh Hospital, 50 at Kuala Lumpur Hospital and around 30 at Shah Alam Hospital.
Meanwhile, at the Putrajaya Hospital, prominent doctor Dr Rafidah Abdullah and nearly 40 members of the nephrology department joined the protest.
According to the organisers, hospitals in other states such as Kedah, Perlis, Johor and Terengganu also saw similar protests. They were still waiting for confirmation of protests in more locations.
The HDK organisers outlined procedures to ensure that the care of hospital patients will not be jeopardised in any way.
Among others, HDK's guidelines for participants assigned to critical care departments state that they should only walk out at 11am after "pass-over" or transfer of duties to the permanent doctor on duty.
MAEPS action cancelled after threat of arrest
However, at the Covid-19 quarantine centre at Maeps, Serdang, doctors decided to cancel the proposed walkout when threatened with police arrest. They took solidarity photographs within the centre instead.
Members of the media were also informed that only the Selangor Information Department was allowed to "cover" the event and even official media such as RTM and Bernama were barred.
Government junior contract doctors face the risk of losing their job after the end of their five-year training at government hospitals.
The HDK had said that being on contract also means that they do not receive certain perks compared to their colleagues in permanent positions, including equal opportunity to further their career into specialisations.
Last Friday, the government offered to extend their contracts for up to four years but stopped short of offering permanent positions.
However, it promised to ensure similar perks with permanent doctors.
HDK described this as "half-cooked" and "sugarcoating". It vowed to continue with the plan to hold a strike.
In what was seen as another last-minute attempt to stop the hartal, Health Ministry officials at state and hospital management levels had allegedly issued threats to their junior doctors yesterday against participating in the strike.
This was followed by Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah's message last night reminding the doctors of their oath.
Speaking at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, an HDK spokesperson who wished to be known as Dr Muhammad told Malaysiakini: "Today we did not intend to have a demonstration or protest, but we... asked the government to give contract doctors equal rights with those who have permanent status.
"We want to be given the opportunity for further studies and to be absorbed as permanent staff.
"Many of us have been involved in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic since the beginning of last year and now we have almost 150 staff resigning because we are starting to get tired of the existing system."
He said the doctors were asking for the government to help them and listen to their voices.
"Our demands have not been fulfilled, despite some concessions. There are no details from the Health Ministry and the prime minister, so we are still waiting for an official response from the government," he added.
More police than doctors, says Suhakam
Suhakam commissioner Mah Weng Kwai said he was at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital to monitor the protests and that there was nothing negative to report so far.
"So far so good. Dr Muhammad was able to make his speech, and there are a lot of police officers here.
"It seems like there are more police than doctors. But the message is clear, our position is we need to study both sides. The doctors want us to do a public inquiry but at the same time, we expect the doctors to look after the welfare of patients.
"General public healthcare is a fundamental human right and we have to balance between the interests of the public, the health of the patients, and the interests of the doctors. I hope the government can resolve this as soon as possible," Mah said.
Additional reporting by Alyaa Alhadjri, Mukhriz Hazim and Daniel Anthony.
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- Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Perlis
- Hospital Kuala Krai and Hospital Sultan Ismail Petra, Kelantan
- Kuala Kangsar Hospital, Perak
- Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Kedah
- Jengka Hospital, Pahang
- Seremban Hospital, Negeri Sembilan
- Daro Hospital, Sarawak
- Bintulu Hospital, Sarawak
- Klang Hospital, Selangor
- Kuala Lumpur Hospital
- Setiu Hospital, Terengganu
- Ampang Hospital, Selangor
- Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital, Johor
- Putrajaya Hospital
- Malacca Hospital, Melaka
- Selayang Hospital, Selangor
- Kuala Lumpur Hospital
- Maeps Serdang, Selangor
- Kajang Hospital, Selangor
- Sungai Buloh Hospital
- Shah Alam Hospital, Selangor
- Kuala Terengganu Hospital, Terengganu
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