No one can deny or underplay the sheer strength our medical frontliners have shown in their battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Day and night, slogging and caring for patients while their personal safety was at risk. They sacrificed their time, health and sanity to help countless patients. Despite all their sacrifices, does the government value our doctors?
CodeBlue reported that contract medical officers from three university hospitals who were posted to Sungai Buloh Hospital which is Malaysia’s main Covid-19 treatment centre still haven’t been paid their April and May wages.
3o doctors from Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Hospital UKM (HUKM), and Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) were among the 400 doctors employed from hospitals all over Malaysia to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.
How are the doctors surviving?
A 27-year-old doctor from UMMC said that he doesn’t have any money to spend for Raya which is in two days. He said that the Sungai Buloh Hospital administration simply said they’ll “maybe” be paid in June without specifying any date.
“If they don’t pay me by June, I’ll be severely affected. I’m relying on my savings to pay my phone bills and buy food.”
Another junior doctor also speaking to CodeBlue said that the administration told them that the system of transferring salary is different as university hospitals pay using their own system. The doctor who has directly handled Covid-19 patients lamented how he has just been using his savings to sustain everyday.
Update: SinChew Daily reported that according to their sources, the doctors will be paid today, 22nd May but this information is yet to be confirmed.
If this is the way we treat our heroes, it’s simply disappointing. The fact that they’re not being paid on time is one issue but to not be paid at all?? We hope the Ministry of Health sees into this issue and make sure that the doctors are getting paid their dues. Our respect for these doctors may have just doubled as they’ve been working for the past two months without even receiving pay.
Also read: Malaysian Doctor Continues Working As Frontliner Despite Being PREGNANT
