DEAN: NEW DOCTORS MUST DO COMPULSORY SERVICE BEFORE WORKING ABROAD

KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 (Bernama) -- A university dean wants the government
to prevent newly-minted doctors from working abroad -- unless they completed the
minimum three-year compulsory service in Malaysia.

Professor Dr Lokman Saim, the dean of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(Malaysia National University)(UKM) Medicine Faculty and UKM Medical Centre
director, made the call in view of the rising number of new graduate doctors
intending to work in Singapore this year.

"The government should only allow doctors trained at public universities to
work abroad after completing the three-year compulsory public service for
doctors, as stipulated by the health ministry," he said in a statement here
Friday.

He noted that 20 out of UKM's 209 medical students who completed their final
examinations on March 26, had accepted the offer to become trainee doctors in
Singapore.

He said, more of their counterparts at University Malaya (UM) were likely to
follow suit.

"It is estimated that about 80 medical graduates in Malaysia would leave the
country soon to work in Singapore," added Dr Lokman.

He said that over the past five years, local doctors were lured to the
republic after the Medical Council of Singapore recognised medical degrees from
UKM and UM.

He said a trainee doctor in Singapore could receive basic monthly salary of
S$2,690 (US$1,969), while in Malaysia, a trainee doctor received only RM3,665
(US$1,151) with an average on-call allowance of between RM500 (US$157)and
RM1,000 (US$314).
-- BERNAMA


Attachments:
untitled-[2] 4.2 k [ text/html ] Download | View
Delete & Prev | Delete & Next