The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has rejected a former minister’s proposal for Putrajaya to seek compensation from Singapore for employing Malaysian-trained healthcare workers, saying it misses the root issue.
MMA president Dr R Thirunavukarasu said the real problem was that bleak career prospects, inadequate on-call allowances, toxic workplaces and unclear career pathways were pushing doctors away from Malaysia.
“The push factors at home are far stronger than the pull factors abroad,” he said in a statement.
“Malaysia cannot afford to continue losing doctors. The solution is not to seek compensation from others, but to create an environment where our doctors feel valued and supported, and are given a future they can believe in.”
Thirunavukarasu gave the example of the on-call pay hike for doctors which he said should not be delayed to 2026 as it was approved in April this year.
“Implementation must take place immediately to restore morale and trust in the government among the doctors who are holding the system together.”
Last week, former federal minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan proposed asking Singapore to compensate Malaysia for the full cost of subsidies spent on educating and training doctors and nurses who take up employment in the city-state.
He said the focus should not be on preventing medical professionals from moving to Singapore but finding ways to recover the high costs of training them in Malaysia.
Rahman added that the proposed compensation should be borne by the employers in Singapore instead of the Malaysian employees.
If the government were to consider the proposal, Thirunavukarasu said it should only apply to medical graduates who received government scholarships or were bonded trainees.
“Privately funded graduates should not be penalised, as they have borne their own costs. Any framework must be fair, transparent, and consistent with international norms on labour mobility.”
