PETALING JAYA: Hartal Doktor Kontrak will seek a meeting with Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa next week to discuss issues affecting them.
A spokesman for the group said any unplanned strike by doctors will not be ethical as it may jeopardise the lives of their patients.
The spokesman, who is also a doctor, said the political secretary of Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has contacted them on Thursday (Feb 17) and set Feb 22 tentatively for the movement leaders to meet the minister in Putrajaya.
“We have yet to be given the agenda of the meeting and we are looking forward to it,” said the spokesman.
The spokesman said some of the movement leaders who are contract doctors with the government have been receiving “letters” from the Health Ministry.
“The unannounced strike was never planned by us to begin with.
“We had not planned any strike. If we are going to hold a strike, we will ensure that there will be a notice period given and it will be a planned event. In the last strike, we gave a one month notice and planned it in a way that patients will not be affected.
“As doctors, it would be unethical for us to go on an unplanned strike as we have a duty to our patients.
“Yes, we wanted to meet the Health Minister from the time she was sworn in and we had put in a request to do so on the second day after her appointment. We were then contacted, but the meeting kept being delayed due to some arising matters and events.
“However, the minister has offered to meet us after the news of the unplanned strike emerged. That strike may be organised by another group of doctors who are not affiliated with Hartal Doktor Kontrak.
“For us, we are open to meet her and we will go ahead with our main demands - to amend the EPF Act so that all of us contract doctors will be able to be absorbed into permanent employment of the civil service.
“The Hartal Doktor Kontrak movement’s second demand is the National Health Services Commission as promised in Pakatan Harapan’s 15th General Election manifesto,” said the spokesman.
“It is not only contract doctors who are in this situation. Healthcare inspectors and many other staff on contract, who has played frontliner roles during the Covid-19 pandemic, are also being laid off after their contracts end.
“It is vital that we have a health services commission now,” said the spokesman.
In the Pakatan manifesto, the coalition promised that should they win the Federal Government, they would set up a National Health Services Commission to resolve problems with contract doctors and reinforce the management of human resources, staffing, training, and career growth of healthcare staff.
On Feb 16, Dr Zaliha posted a TikTok video urging healthcare workers who are planning a strike to come forward and meet her to discuss a solution.
Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 14) said the association has heard of a possible strike by public healthcare workers.
He said that the healthcare system and its human resources have been stretched to their limits for many years.
MMA, however, did not condone the strike and urged the government to take the speculation seriously, and speed up reforms to address their long-standing grievances.
