DOCTORS and dentists say “something is better than nothing” regarding the government’s move to increase on-call allowance by RM55 to RM65 for medical personnel.
A doctor, who wished to be known as Pardeep, said the amount is not much compared to the long hours and sacrifices put in by doctors on-call but every little bit does count.
“We put in long hours when on-call working through the night and into the next day and had been expecting a higher increase.
“I hope the government can also look into other aspects of our welfare to compensate us better,” he said.
The on-call allowance currently enjoyed by these medical officers ranges from RM80 to RM200 depending on the specialty.
When tabling Budget 2025, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Health Ministry will introduce a new work system at selected hospitals and clinics nationwide in stages.
Doctors and dentists working at facilities which use the new system will see their on-call allowance increased by RM55 to RM65.
Meanwhile, a primary school teacher, who wished to be known as Khalid, thanked the government for introducing the APEL.Q programme as part of its lifelong learning policy.
“I have been planning to enrol for a degree programme for years now and with the introduction of this programme, I hope to finally do it.
“This will also allow me to get promoted later on,” he said.
Under the APEL.Q programme, the government will bear 50% of the cost of the fees or a maximum of RM15,000 for civil servants who have been working for more than 15 years if they wish to pursue higher education.
Clerk Jamilah Atan is grateful for the special one-off RM500 aid for all government servants including those on contract in Grade 56 and below.
“Since we will already be getting higher salaries from December onwards, the RM500 aid is truly a bonus,” she said.
In August, Anwar announced a 15% pay raise for officers in the implementing, management and professional groups, and a 7% increase for officers in top management and professional roles.
The increment will be implemented in two phases, the first in December this year and the second in January 2026.
Another public sector employee, who wished to be known as Thomas, said the announcement that the Public Sector Home Financing Board will introduce a new repayment scheme to allow young civil servants to service their housing loans for up to 40 years is good as houses are more expensive now.
However, he said government servants should be offered much lower interest rates than those imposed by commercial banks.
“This will not only motivate us but will allow more public sector employees to own houses which are getting costlier by the day,” he said.
Thomas also lauded the government’s decision to expand the Ex-Gratia Compensation Scheme which provides social security coverage for government servants to all employees.
