KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 6,417 permanent and contract medical officers have resigned from 2019 to 2023.
Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, said that in addition, his department has also recorded the resignation of 1,046 medical specialists within the same period.
He said that 63 other medical specialists opted for early retirement.
"One of the reasons for these resignations is the offer of employment as lecturers at public universities.
"Other reasons include personal issues, competency matters, and health problems.
"Some resignations are also necessary to comply with service regulations, allowing contract appointees to shorten their current contracts and facilitate the transition to permanent positions, along with the processing of contract gratuities," he said.
He said this in a written reply to Senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran, who requested an explanation from the Health Minister regarding the number of permanent and contract medical officers who have resigned or opted for early retirement from the Ministry of Health (MOH) over the last five years.
According to statistics released by the MOH, of the 6,417 medical officers who resigned, 2,385 were permanent staff, while the remaining 4,032 were contract appointees.
Dr Dzulkefly said that the total number of resignations does not include the 1,086 contract medical officers who resigned to shorten their existing contract services in order to accept permanent appointment offers and process contract gratuities.
Regarding the current number of health personnel serving in the MOH, Dr Dzulkefly said that as of June 30, there were 298,853 personnel.
He said that this number includes 266,133 permanent health personnel and 32,720 contract health personnel.
"Of that total, 7,638 are medical specialists, while 44,155 are medical officers," he said.