KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — More than 3,500 medical officers left Malaysia’s public healthcare sector over a three-year period ending in 2025, adding pressure on a state medical system already struggling with workforce shortages and staff burnout.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad yesterday said in a written parliamentary reply exactly 3,511 medical officers resigned from the Ministry of Health between 2023 and 2025.

The figure comprised 1,283 resignations in 2023, 1,153 in 2024 and 1,075 in 2025.

Dzulkefly conceded that the ministry lacks the legal framework to prevent doctors from migrating to private healthcare providers or accepting positions overseas. Instead, the administration has leaned heavily on financial carrots and faster career progression models to anchor doctors within the civil service framework.

“The Ministry of Health doesn’t have any legal provision to prevent medical officers from seeking employment in the private sector, including preventing recruitment efforts undertaken by the private sector or registered foreign talent recruitment agencies,” he said.

To counter the brain drain, the, minister said Putrajaya is highlighting competitive starting wages for entry-level schemes alongside recent increases to locum allowances and specialised on-call payments.

The ministry has also expanded sponsored slots for specialist pathways and introduced income-supplementing frameworks at selected public hospitals.

Among initiatives taken to address the issue is offering a competitive starting salary of RM5,380 for Grade UD9 officers, with an annual salary increment of RM225 — the highest compared with other public service schemes.

Medical officers are also eligible for specific allowances and incentives, including a locum allowance of up to RM80 per hour.

The on-call duty allowance for medical officers (ETAP) was increased by 40 per cent effective from October 1, 2025, while the elective surgery allowance was set at RM80 per hour.

Dzulkefly said some 4,000 MO’s are appointed to permanent positions on average yearly. Still, he pledged to “continuously improve” incentives to keep healthcare workers in the public sector.

“Efforts to retain medical officers in the public healthcare sector do not rest solely on the shoulders of the Ministry of Health. It is a complex issue requiring long-term solutions and continuous efforts from various parties,” he said.

“The ministry will continue to conduct periodic engagement sessions with central agencies to improve incentives and benefits for medical officers to ensure they remain in service.”

Experts said the departures underscore a persistent talent drain out of the public health system, a widely reported problem in which junior and intermediate doctors face crushing workloads and lucrative alternative offers from the private sector or foreign recruitment agencies.

The situation is compounded by an increasing number of contract doctors rejecting permanent civil service offers, according to healthcare analysts. 

Many choose to walk away from public service entirely rather than accept mandatory relocations to understaffed rural hubs or East Malaysian states like Sabah and Sarawak.