KUALA LUMPUR – A government house officer has taken to social media to criticise the Health Ministry over its repeated last-minute postponements of medical officer placements, saying the uncertainty has disrupted the lives of more than 2,000 affected doctors.
Tya Roslan said she and her colleagues had received permanent appointment letters from the ministry on February 5, marking a long-awaited transition from contract status.
However, their excitement turned to dismay when the ministry abruptly cancelled their placements announced on February 27, citing a system issue that led to ‘maldistribution’.
“There was no official statement, no press conference—just an announcement on TV3, leaving us scrambling for answers,” she said in a Facebook post which has gained more 1,000 shares at the time of this writing.
Initially scheduled for reassignment on March 17, the placement process was delayed once again, with affected doctors receiving an email at 11.45 pm on March 15, postponing it to March 25–27—just days before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Tya criticised the apparent lack of professionalism, questioning the ministry’s decision to notify them so late at night on a weekend.
“Do you send emails at midnight so we can’t reach out for answers?” she asked.
She also acknowledged the risks of speaking out publicly, as civil servants are bound by the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993, which prohibit making public statements on government matters.
However, she insisted that the repeated delays and lack of transparency left them with no choice.
“This time, we have to speak up,” she said.
“What has been done to us is too cruel and makes no sense at all. We are exercising our fundamental right to express our grievances under Article 5 of the Federal Constitution.”
Many of the affected doctors had made significant sacrifices to secure their placements, with some taking leave, swapping on-call duties, and even traveling long distances to ensure a smooth process.
Tya recalled how some colleagues spent hours in front of their computers or at cybercafés with stable internet connections to secure placements only for their efforts to be rendered meaningless by the sudden cancellations.
“If we had known this would happen, we wouldn’t have wasted so much time, energy, and resources,” she said.
“Some of us had started making plans—getting housing arrangements, preparing our families for potential relocations—and now, everything is up in the air again.”
She warned that the constant uncertainty could push many doctors to resign and seek opportunities abroad, worsening the doctor shortage in public hospitals.
“We are not asking to be treated like royalty, just with basic respect. If this continues, our healthcare system will suffer,” she said.
The Health Ministry has yet to issue an official response. – March 16, 2025