“Great hospitals do two things. They look after patients, and they teach young doctors.”
– David Ogilvy, British advertising tycoon
“AN annual package of RM385,000 and perks comprising monthly accommodation allowance, insurance and other benefits like on-call allowance.”
Wow. Such an attractive package! If I were a Malaysian doctor, I would take up that offer without a second thought.
The attractive salary and perks are the initial draw for Malaysian doctors to work in Singapore but there are other compelling reasons too.
Singapore’s relatively low-income tax rates also make take-home pay more attractive.
Then, there is the more structured and transparent career progression in the island state. The medical career pathway in Singapore is more merit-based, clear and structured.
Specialisation opportunities are more accessible and supported through well-defined training programmes. Malaysian doctors often complain about delayed postgraduate training and limited slots.
Why are we suddenly so worried about losing more Malaysian doctors to Singapore? After all, there is nothing strange about our doctors moving to work in the island republic or overseas.
This is why. Singapore has embarked on a bold move to hold direct interviews at a leading hotel in Kuala Lumpur next month for the recruitment of experienced Malaysian doctors.
Concerned personalities have expressed concern that the move, seen as more determined and aggressive, is likely to exacerbate the brain drain in the Malaysian healthcare sector.
Senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran, a Penang physician, said the latest advertisement by the republic’s health ministry calling for walk-in interviews at Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumpur next month, offering an attractive package (stated above) would surely attract Malaysian doctors.
Also enticing are the more relaxed requirements. The doctors are only required to have a minimum of three years’ experience at Malaysian hospitals and clinics. It is also now open to all medical degree holders without having to sit for an examination.
“I think this will open the floodgates as the costliest expenditure in Singapore, which is accommodation, will be covered. The comments on social media by doctors are an indication that we are going to lose our medical brains,” Lingeshwaran told Free Malaysia Today.
“They are leaving because the Malaysian system provides them with no certainty and support for their future. The unresolved contract doctor policy, lack of permanent positions, limited career progression and poor work-life balance are driving them away,” he said.
In December, Health Minister Datuk Dzulkefly Ahmad was reported as saying that a total of 6,417 permanent and contract medical officers resigned from 2019 to 2023.
“The brain drain is not a drip any more, it is now a wave. We need urgent structural reforms to retain our talent, value their service, and give them a future worth staying for,” said Lingeshwaran.
Last Saturday, Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian also sounded a warning that the brain drain of doctors, especially from East Malaysia, will persist if the remuneration scheme isn’t improved.
Dr Sim said the brain drain would place greater strain on the national health service.
“We cannot continue with the notion that ‘we are cheap and good’. In 2025, we are good, but we need to be paid better,” he was quoted as saying in the Borneo Post.
“Many doctors are burdened by rising living costs. Medicine may be a noble calling, but we must be realistic. Doctors have families to support, children to educate, and loans to repay, despite the strengthening ringgit,” said Dr Sim.
Dr Sim’s long-standing concern over Sarawakian doctors being lured to work in Singapore and elsewhere abroad is neither new nor unfounded.
As a cardiologist by training and Sarawak’s Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government, Dr Sim is deeply invested in strengthening the state’s healthcare system.
For those who know Dr Sim well, his concern is deeply rooted in his medical background and policy role. He understands that building a robust Sarawak healthcare system requires more than infrastructure.
It requires retaining its human capital. But unless Sarawak and Malaysia can match or at least come close to what destinations like Singapore offer, his call for doctors to “return home” will remain an uphill battle.
Still, Dr Sim’s persistence reflects a visionary effort to rebuild Sarawak’s healthcare by investing in Sarawakian talent, for Sarawak’s future.
Dr Sim, who also serves as SUPP president, is regarded as a senior politician in Sarawak today. However, it is his heartfelt calls for talented Sarawakians to return home that have truly endeared him to many – especially his fellow Sarawakians, who appreciate and respect his unwavering commitment to the state’s future.
And the good doctor truly deserves every accolade for his unwavering perseverance and invaluable contributions to the health sector.
His dedication to improving the well-being of his fellow citizens and his tireless efforts to strengthen healthcare in his homeland are both admirable and inspiring.
Dr Sim stands as a shining example of service, resilience and commitment to the greater good.
Seriously, if there is any one person who is able to persuade our doctors from leaving for greener pastures elsewhere, it has to be Dr Sim.
Why? Because the man is known to have “turun padang” regularly to get the job done. He is not one to sit idly by and “tengok saja”!
Francis Paul Siah is a veteran Sarawak editor and currently heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
