I find the recent survey conducted by the UK Executive Council for Malaysian Students unnecessary, “Poor pay keeping best brains away” (Sunday Star, April 30).
Any Tom, Dick or Harry can tell you why Malaysian doctors and professionals working abroad are not willing to come back to serve the country. Tell us something new, other than what we already know but choose to deny. The fact is, and it has always been this: Low salary and long working hours.
The results of the survey clearly reflect the sad state of affairs, particularly of the medical profession in the country.
It was not too long ago that I worked as a houseman at the busiest hospital in the country. I worked for 36 hours when I was on call, and more often than not, I was on call every other day, which translates to a total of more than 108 hours a week, including weekends!
To rub salt into the wound, housemen at that time were paid a miserable sum of RM25 per call. Talk about cheap labour.
Working condition was just appalling. I can recall those nights that if we did get to sleep at all, even for an hour, it was on the floor.
If we were lucky, we would get to sleep on a bed, the very same one where the patient had died earlier in the day.
Some of my colleagues were so exhausted from work that they dozed off right in front of the patient while taking his history.
Our monthly income was nothing to shout about either. When I met some old friends, they often popped the dreaded question: How much do you earn a month? I never answered them.
Having slogged my way through Form Six for two years, then another five years at a local university, my income now is no more than what my non-doctor friends are earning, and some do not even have a university degree.
The Government spends close to a million for each student to pursue a career in medicine. Thus, it is only right that these sponsored students return and serve the country.
However, the same should not apply to students who were not government-sponsored, as it is not only unreasonable, but also unfair.
If in the first place,the Government refused these deserving students scholarships, what right does it have now to demand and to compel them to come back and serve the country, all in the name of patriotism?
How long would it take to earn back the money spent on studying abroad with the poor pay that doctors in Malaysia are getting?
I want to stress that these students who choose not to return do not, in any way, lack a sense of nationalism and patriotism.
To tackle the problem of long working hours, why not introduce the shift system like in the UK? Let us also learn from our neighbour Singapore where civil servants are paid almost as high as those in the private sector to prevent brain drain and corruption.
It is indeed heartening to see the Government is concerned about the problem of brain drain in the country, and is trying to tackle this at the root of the problem by targeting students studying abroad.
We should applaud the efforts taken by the Government such as legalising locum and promotion of specialists stuck in houseman or medical officer's post. Nevertheless, more can be done and unless the Government is really committed to addressing this issue, conducting the survey is just as good as paying lip service to this chronic problem.
DISGRUNTLED DOCTOR
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
courtesy The Star
Well said disgruntled doc.....you speak for all of us.
