“Is It Because I Have the Term ‘Contract’ in Front of My Title Instead of ‘Permanent’?”
Humans of Medicine #21
This publication is in conjunction with MMI’s National Contract Doctors Day Celebration. Information regarding the project can be found at @mmi_social on Instagram.
When I first settled down in a new area, I had to make necessary adjustments just like any other Medical Officer (MO) placed outside their territory. Yet despite being placed 1500km away from home, I was not entitled to “Elaun Gangguan” - an allowance given only to permanent MOs from Peninsular Malaysia who are placed in East Malaysia and vice versa. Why am I not granted the allowance? Is it because I have the word “Contract” in front of my title instead of “Permanent”? I’ve worked as hard as the permanent MOs to graduate from medical school, to complete my housemanship and now to continue my job as a doctor, only to be met with these discouraging hurdles.
To add salt to the injury, I decided to take a week’s leave to fly home after not seeing my family for months since my first posting to Sabah. I landed in the evening only to receive a call from the Ministry of Health (MoH), requesting my return to Sabah immediately to help out with Covid-19. My week’s leave was cut short to 2 days without any prior notice. I had to change my ticket at an additional cost which was not compensated by the MoH (thankfully, the hospital I was working at kindly reimbursed my ticket after I appealed). It was then that I seriously considered resigning. Yes, resigning!
Nonetheless, for a month after submitting my resignation, I continued serving the people struck by Covid-19 as a contract MO. This was for a salary less than that of a house officer but with a workload equal to that of a permanent MO. I just couldn’t bring myself to betray the nation at a time when they needed me and my other medical colleagues the most. That was my last act of service as a government servant.
My time as a contract MO meant that regardless of the number of years I worked, my service years would still be 0. As local Masters programmes require 2 service years as a permanent MO, I will never be able to apply - hence denying my long-term dream of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. Furthermore, I wouldn’t be promoted beyond the UD41 status (the ranking held by House Officers) and therefore my salary would remain static. There are currently 20,000 contract doctors in Malaysia; out of these numbers, only 15% are being absorbed into the permanent system. Seeing my juniors being absorbed into their permanent jobs was disheartening for me - not because I had been waiting a much longer time, but because it meant my chances of being absorbed as a permanent medical officer were slowly vanishing.
On the day I sent my resignation, I posted about my experiences as a contract MO in Junior MOs United, a Facebook group I had stumbled across a few months prior to resigning. I was the first batch of doctors to deal with the contract system and I felt obliged to share my story. However, the group only had 3000 members out of the 20,000 contract medical officers. Clearly, information was not being disseminated to all those who needed it.
Therefore, I, alongside with other contract medical doctors decided to come up with the United Medical Officer Initiative. Also known as The Initiative, we aim to circulate information to all the contract medical officers out there by designing a webpage to answer burning questions from them. I am also working on an app to communicate feedback from contract medical doctors to policy makers each time there is a change in contract system policy.
I don’t know if this movement will be able to abolish the contract system. But I am determined to equip fresh graduates with the right information, so that they can make the best informed decision for themselves. I might have surrendered my ambition to become a cardiothoracic surgeon, but I am optimistic that The Initiative will allow my juniors to achieve their dreams of specialising.
Dr Harith Abd Rani (harithrani27@icloud.com) is currently a General Practitioner in a Clinic in Seri Kembangan. He has resigned from the government service after serving for more than 3 years due to the obstacles of the contract system. He has been actively involved in the self-founded movement called The Initiative, and plans to work alongside MMI and MMA in reaching out to policy makers to secure permanent jobs for housemen.
About the author
Interviewed and written by Repe Sidhu. Repe Sidhu is a 4th year medical student in Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. She loves reading books and travelling.
Consent has been obtained from the interviewee for the purpose of this publication. The author has rewritten the article with permission from the interviewee.
Humans of Medicine is a new initiative under MMI. We tell inspiring stories behind portrait shots of our everyday unsung heroes. Curated by Malaysian medical students from home and abroad.
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