KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — The Health Ministry (MoH) said another 4,263 healthcare workers will be offered permanent positions in public medical facilities by July this year.

In a Parliamentary written reply yesterday, the ministry said this is in line with the government's aim last year to convert 12,800 contract workers into permanent staff by 2025.

The ministry said the government will bear the cost of the transition which is worth RM1.7 billion.

"As of December 31, 2022, 4,333 contract medical officers have been appointed permanently.

"This year, this effort will be continued by the government through the Public Service Commission (PSC) and a total of 4,263 more medical officers have been finalised for permanent recruitment, and placement arrangements will be implemented starting July 2023,” it said in a response to a question posed by Barisan Nasional (BN) Tanjung Piai lawmaker Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng.

The ministry also said that the Cabinet has reached a decision on March 31 to form a High-Level Committee (HLC) to look into issues surrounding healthcare workers including recruiting contract-based medical staff.

As for the implementation, a special task force consisting of four work teams has been established and is currently drafting the initiative plan which includes five focus areas.

The ministry said among the five focus areas are amendments to allow more flexible graduate training not concentrated in MoH facilities, create a mechanism to allow private medical practitioners to undergo specialised training, hold discussions with the private healthcare service facilities to create more job opportunities and examining the need for additional permanent staffing in the public sector.