Dzulkefly: We can't stop foreign medical headhunters from hiring locals

Malaysia cannot prevent foreign companies from hiring local healthcare talent as there is no legal basis to do so, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said.

However, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to retaining doctors and other healthcare workers within Malaysia's public healthcare system.

Dzulkefly added that the government is already implementing various measures to encourage local healthcare workers to stay, including expediting permanent position appointments among contract doctors.

“We cannot block cross-border recruitment, it’s an individual right. This is also aligned with the Mutual Recognition Arrangement and the Asean Framework Agreement on Services.

“These agreements allow for labour mobility across Asean countries as mutually agreed. That said, we want our doctors, specialists and nurses with post-basic training to stay with us,” Bernama reported him as saying today.

Dzulkefly was responding to viral social media claims that Singapore hospitals are actively recruiting local public healthcare workers, particularly doctors, with attractive salary offers.

Job advertisements for interviews to recruit Malaysian doctors and nurses to work in Singapore, set for this August, were seen circulating online.

On Thursday, DAP senator Dr A Lingeshwaran raised red flags over Singapore’s aggressive recruitment of Malaysian doctors, warning Malaysia risks a deepening brain drain unless urgent reforms are made.

Transitioning contract doctors

Dzulkefly said the ministry is expediting the transition of contract doctors to permanent positions, given the country’s critical need for medical professionals.

“We won’t delay; we are expediting the process to absorb contract workers into permanent roles. As soon as there are vacancies, we will act,” he added.

The minister explained that the contract doctor system was initially introduced to address a surge in medical graduates and the limited number of permanent posts in the past decade.

“That situation no longer applies as the number of medical graduates has dropped significantly. There should now be enough positions available for new permanent appointments,” he added.

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