• UPDATED 9.55PM | Added comments from the Malaysian Medical Association.

The movement of contract doctors behind last month's nationwide strike has questioned the Health Ministry's move to offer 300 contract doctors from the peninsula permanent positions in East Malaysia.

Hartal Doktor Kontrak said in a statement the Health Ministry's offer for permanent positions only in Sabah and Sarawak appeared to ignore the bigger picture - the problem of a nationwide shortage of doctors.

"The issue being played up is as if the contract doctors were turning down...