THE public healthcare system is confronting a mounting doctor shortage, with the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) warning that years of systemic mismanagement have left the sector struggling to attract and retain medical professionals.<\/p>\n
\u201cMMA views this as a serious and long-anticipated workforce crisis. When 5,000 positions are offered and only 529 are filled, it clearly shows that graduates are choosing not to enter the system. That should concern all of us,\u201d said MMA president Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo.<\/p>\n
He emphasised that the crisis has been building for more than a decade and did not arise overnight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe medical profession has, over the past decade, been without clear short-, mid- and long-term solutions. Years of misaligned policy, inconsistent planning, and working conditions, combined with a growing negative narrative about public healthcare, have contributed to the problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Thirunavukarasu highlighted that the contract system and uncertain career pathways have left young doctors questioning the stability of public service roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cHousemanship is still perceived as physically and mentally demanding, with inconsistent support and supervision. This perception is influencing decisions,\u201d he said, adding that past policies addressing immediate issues have often created new challenges over time.<\/p>\n
The MMA president underlined that the solutions are known, but decisive action has been lacking.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, we must restore confidence. There must be a clear and transparent pathway from housemanship to career progression, with certainty in employment, remuneration, and specialist training.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Health Ministry and Public Service Department must be aligned, and the Finance Ministry must be involved. Without the Finance Ministry, remuneration cannot be addressed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also linked doctors\u2019 well-being to patient care, noting widespread burnout and serious incidents among house officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot separate a doctor\u2019s well-being from quality of care. House officers need proper supervision, rest and a system that does not normalise overwork or unsafe practices,\u201d Dr Thirunavukarasu said.<\/p>\n
Warning of a declining interest in medicine, he cited a 2024 national study of 859 medical students from 21 medical schools, which found only 37.8% were optimistic about a future with the Health Ministry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are students still in training. If this is not addressed, the pipeline problem will worsen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dr Thirunavukarasu called for a coordinated, whole-of-government approach involving the Health Ministry, Public Service Department, Finance Ministry, and Higher Education Ministry to prevent a worsening crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than 70% of Malaysians depend on the public healthcare system.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith an ageing population and rising non-communicable diseases, demand will only increase. If we do not act now, the impact will be felt directly by patients in terms of waiting times and quality of care,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He cautioned that the effects of policy changes today will only materialise in five to ten years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are seeing today reflects past decisions, and what we do now will determine the system a decade from today. If we want young doctors to serve, we must first build a system in which they are willing to serve,\u201d he said. – March 28, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE public healthcare system is confronting a mounting doctor shortage, with the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) warning that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569212,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,279829,786,500,935,17200,279830,785,45463,85],"class_list":["post-569211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-doctors-shortage","tag-fighting","tag-healthcare","tag-malaysia","tag-malaysian-medical-association","tag-medical-workforce","tag-mma","tag-public-hospitals","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}