PETALING JAYA: Many issues were raised at the town hall session with the Health Minister and the meeting with doctors is a good start to resolving them, says the Hartal Doktor Kontrak group.
"It was generally a good meeting between the Health Minister (Dr Zaliha Mustafa) and doctors, coordinated by the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA)," a spokesman for the group said after the closed-door session concluded on Wednesday evening (Feb 22).
"A lot of issues were raised and the Health Minister gave her assurance that she will investigate (the issues raised) and try to resolve them. It is a good start," the spokesman added.
The Star understands that human resources and facilities and infrastructure issues, which were putting the healthcare sector under strain, were among the issues raised.
It was also attended by Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii and Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee.
Dr Zaliha had earlier said that those coming to the town hall need not fear any repercussions for attending the session.
"To all those coming to the town hall session, kindly be assured that everyone is free to share views without fear of repercussion. Looking forward to hearing from you all," she said.
The town hall session was a result of repeated calls and demands from healthcare workers and groups representing them, such as Hartal Doktor Kontrak, to look into the issues faced by the healthcare workers and the healthcare system as a whole.
Hartal Doktor Kontrak had also sought a meeting with Dr Zaliha on several occasions.