MOH Considers Baseline Study On Family Impact Of Medical Officers’ Postings

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry (MoH) will assess the need to conduct a baseline study on the impact of long-distance postings on medical officers’ families, including their relationships with spouses and children.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the ministry currently had no specific data on family breakdowns or divorces linked to medical officers being posted far from their families.

“I believe there is a need for us to conduct a baseline study on the extent to which their families are affected by prolonged separation due to their positions, duties and careers,” he said during the Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to V. Ganabatirau (PH-Klang), who raised issues concerning bullying, postings, transfers, welfare and the brain drain involving MoH medical officers.

Dzulkefly said posting decisions are based on departmental needs and vacancies, taking into account factors including qualifications, competency, experience, length of service, distance from the workplace, dependants, and the health conditions of the officers or their family members.

He said about 74 per cent of posting-related applications had been successfully accommodated, while the remainder could not be fulfilled due to various factors, including a lack of vacancies.

On transfers, Dzulkefly said there was no standard waiting period as it depended on the application date, application cycle closing date, relevant committee meetings and service requirements, with transfer exercises conducted at least four times a year.

He said MoH also provided a mutual transfer system (P3S), which had so far matched 118 pairs of nurses, in addition to eight cases involving service requirements and 18 in the pharmacy service.

On bullying and a toxic work culture, Dzulkefly said MoH launched the Guidelines for Managing Workplace Bullying for ministry personnel on Aug 21, 2025, covering reporting, prevention and intervention procedures.

He said 730 complaints had been recorded through the complaints system from Oct 1, 2022 to Sept 28 this year, with four found to be substantiated and action taken, while the remaining 726 involved various issues including services, operations, transfers and communication.

Dzulkefly also assured that he would ensure whistleblowers were protected from any action by their superiors.

“As the minister, I will not compromise on this matter... I want them to be protected,” he said.

-- BERNAMA