Indonesian Doctors Protest Against Health System, Medical Studies

By Azeman Ariffin JAKARTA, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- More than 2,000 medical practitioners on Monday took part in a peaceful demonstration in conjunction with National Doctors Day 2016 to protest against the health system and medical studies in Indonesia. The demonstration, organised by the Ikatan Doktor Indonesia (IDI), was held for about four hours from 8am in front of the Presidential Palace here. Online media quoted IDI secretary-general Dr Adib Khumaidi as saying that the demonstration was held to express the disatisfaction of medical practitioners over the country's health system which they claimed saw much government interference. He said IDI rejected a government proposal to make it mandatory for all medical practitioners to attend a two-year course for appointment as primary care physicians. He said the proposal showed that the government looked down upon and doubted the competency of general practitioners in the country. Adib said there should not be appointment of any primary care physicians because the government itself did not provide adequate infrastructure, particularly in several remote districts. Some rural hospitals did not have adequate medical facilities and the government should strive to step up medical infrastructure facilities, he said. He also said that IDI wanted the government to reduce the cost of medical studies so that the poor could also become doctors if they were eligible to attend medical courses at the local universities. "Medical studies should not be exclusive and expensive and only for the rich," he said. --BERNAMA