KOTA BARU: The Health Ministry has approved transfer appeals for 332 medical officers in the country who will report for duty on July 31.
According to Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa, among the appeals considered from medical officers were to pursue specialisation studies in their respective profession, those who faced serious family problems and for security reasons.
"The appeals were approved on June 27 and July 24 after reviewing appeals from 1,843 of the 4,155 medical officers who were offered permanent positions.
"The placements this time will be made via a system and medical officers need to choose their placement because the disparity between contract officers and permanent officers can be high in a number of states and to give medical officers a fair opportunity to choose their placements," she told reporters during a special media conference here on Saturday (July 29).
Dr Zaliha also said the Health Ministry had set up several channels for medical officers to appeal, including online and face-to-face appeals, while three dedicated telephone lines were allocated for medical officers to get in touch with the human resources department.
"In the process, the Appeals Panel during their meetings will consider the appeals of all officers but not all can be approved because some positions applied for in certain states may not be vacant. Consideration will be given to those who need such placements.
"When reviewing the appeals, medical officers will also be offered to serve in other states nearby although they have appealed to serve in a certain state. It happens when the state in question does not have vacancies. When there are no vacancies in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Melaka, placements in Johor, Pahang or Kedah might be offered," she said.
The medical officers can go straight to their respective work place approved by the Health Ministry without having to wait for their letter of offer because their respective placements will have their records when they report for duty.
"However, if medicals officers seek to report later than the date of appointment, they can appeal to their respective heads of department to determine the actual date that they can report for duty," she said.
The Health Ministry is also aware that the transition of medical officers and relocation can leave a void in the many departments, hospitals, and clinics they have served. – Bernama
