top of page
Writer's pictureVincent Chuah

Are you happy works as a government doctor in Malaysia?

#wish I am happy #too late to regret

Money is the root of evil. Money can't buy happiness


I started as a house officer in 2015 and working till now.

Working as a doctor for the past 8years

Am I happy? Am I really enjoying it?

I do not know. I started to feel lost in this world.


You know, working as a government servant does not earn much. You tend to be forced to overwork but never get extra pay. You never get the allowance to attend training courses (mostly self-paid). You never get a good bonus each year (RM500 settle you). Your salary increases slowly.


People will start to say, you enjoy free healthcare leh. You do need to buy insurance and you can save money. The heck! You know many high-end drugs are not available in Malaysian government healthcare. Most of the high-end drugs need to be paid for. You can claim via JPA fund, but that doesn't mean you will get it. And the application process took months. So, I still need to buy insurance for the sake of my future if I get any illness.


Working for the past 8 years in a government hospital, I still ended up as M40. You can go on Asian trips with a tight budget but can't go on a European trip. 2-3 months salary burnt when you go for a trip. Is it possible for me to bring my family and parents to go on a European trip? Can, but will difficulties). Depends on how you budget your trip. You can save here, save there.

People will say that you never get satisfied with what you have; you always want more. You tak bersyukur lar.

When your hardship is not equal to what you earn/ what you get, you will know the pain.


Am I not happy? I guess yes. Am I the one who is not happy? I guess not. Many government servants (health care workers) are unsatisfied with their salaries. Healthcare professionalism is a demanding job. A nurse can earn a thousand SG dollars in Singapore. They are required in the field. What Malaysia government offer us? Few thousand Malaysia ringgit. The workload is shitier than in Singapore. The same goes for the doctor. Hence, we can see many newer generations of doctors chose to work in foreign countries such as Singapore, Australia, and the UK/ US or chose not to pursue their career in KKM. They become general practitioners or aesthetics, which provides them with more family time, less stress, good money, and a Future.


Yes, they can see their Future.

This trend is not limited to medical officers/nurses; it is also the same for specialists. Many specialists or sub-specialists chose to work in private hospitals as they offered better pay and better life.

Then, who will continue to work in government? And serve the nation?

I do not know, either.


Why can't the government provide equal pay (or slightly below) or better benefits to healthcare workers? But they provide so many incentives to business companies etc

I do not know, either.


Why do healthcare workers need to be sacrificed? We need to be sent out to any place in Malaysia to serve the nation. KL ppl need to work in Sarawak. Johor ppl need to work in Ipoh. Batu pahat ppl need to work in JB.

Why on earth do we need to be separated away from family? I cannot have a home due to placement changes every few years.

Most of the time, We are UNABLE to choose. We are forced to accept it.

And sometimes, you can't choose the department you want as well,


Now we see it...

Salary pay- game over

Family/personal time- game over

Placement- game over

Benefits/incentives in term health care etc- same (as long as you are Malaysian)

Tax pay- same

Future- game over


Recently, on-call claim revisions have been rejected.

Dr Ali...Your salary is superb! Maybe you are the only one in Malaysia who received that salary. KKM is awesome! KKM produces a lot of Dr Ali.

Sad....even your KKM boss backstabbed you.

MMA speaks for us.


What made me continue to stay in government despite so many disadvantages?

I will keep the answer for myself. Or I will disclose it in one day.

Still, things may have changed. Be positive. Life is fantasy.










47 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page