The Malaysian public healthcare system has, over the years, received its fair share of criticisms. Nowhere is this more readily apparent than in the case of new medical graduates looking to join the profession, who have often alleged being mistreated by the system while being caught in career limbo without any concrete future prospects on the horizon.
Malaysian pharmacist shares why she left MOH
These very same concerns were recently brought to the fore once again by local netizen Afifah Aziz, who also used to serve under the Ministry of Health as a pharmacist. In speaking about her experiences working within the confines of public healthcare, Afifah said that she made the decision to leave her role with the government after feeling betrayed by the system.
“The precursor of why I chose to ‘betray’ KKM (as some would address it) is because they’ve done it to me first.”
Speaking to WauPost on her professional journey, she explained that she had first joined the Ministry of Health (MOH) back in 2018. A crucial point to note is that the renumeration package offered to public servants is generally determined by their grade in civil service. According to a Universiti Sains Malaysia circular issued on vacancies for pharmacist positions in civil service, the grades span from UF41 to UF54, with the pay scale and allowances increasing with each subsequent jump.
In Afifah’s case, she managed to reach grade UF44 after having served for four years without any permanent postings under MOH. However, she was later offered a permanent posting in Sabah, with a caveat that her grade would be downgraded from UF44 to UF41.
“Downgrading my grade means disregarding all of my 4 years of service in KKM all these while.”
“I said “It’s okay. At least it’s a permanent posting. I don’t value people by grade so it shouldn’t be any difference for me too. Let’s do it.””
Only travelling expenses would be covered for her move to Sabah
Having agreed to make the big move over to East Malaysia, she was then told that only her travelling expenses would be covered, but not the expenses incurred to transport their belongings or personal vehicles to other parts of the country.
In spite of the fact that they were needed in remote parts of the country, Afifah points out that they were treated like ‘beggars’ who were desperate for work. ”
“Usual connotation thrown by those who comes before us was ‘Macam biasa la, they will say if you taknak, quit la. Banyak lagi orang nak tempat you,‘ [Like usual, they will say if you don’t want the job, quit. There are so many other people who would take your role.]”
But the last straw came when she was informed that as she had accepted a position with a lower grade, her allowance would also summarily be reduced, affecting her overall income.
“This is the final straw. It’s not the money, it’s the gesture.”
Lamenting the fact that the public healthcare system continues to remain unchanged even when those within it have expressed their concerns and grouses, Afifah has since resigned from public service after she was offered a new position in the Peninsula, and will be taking time off to be with her family until her new role begins.
MOH needs to acknowledge issues raised by public healthcare workers
From her time working under MOH, she points to workplace biases as well as toxic cultures as being one of the issues that she was confronted with, after one of her bosses favoured members of staff who are more capable at meeting their statistical requirements as pharmacists.
“I’m always the kind of person who put my patient first, and my statistics second.”
Consequently, her stats would suffer when her workload exceeds her abilities, which meant that she was rarely favoured by her boss.
“I guess the biggest challenge is to be true to yourself & continue serving the patient despite feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.”
With that said, she adds that her time in civil service has been ‘one of the best experiences’ in her life, and that the other faces she has met in public healthcare have been affable and kind, nurturing her into becoming better at her job.
At this juncture, Afifah remains on the lookout to work in a hospital as she has always been passionate in her work as a clinical pharmacist.
“Private or government sector doesn’t really matter as long as patient is the priority. “
She has also urged the government to consider looking into the concerns expressed by public healthcare workers and to address the issues raised, lest they become increasingly dire moving forwards.
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