Contract Doctors Pm Statement Only Sugarcoating Strike Is On

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A nationwide protest by government contract doctors will go ahead as planned this Monday, said its organiser, despite Putrajaya making last-minute offers to appease them yesterday.
The group spearheading the Hartal Doktor Kontrak movement said the solutions offered by the government in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's statement yesterday, were only "half-cooked" and only intended to keep them quiet.
"Offering us another year of contract is not a solution; it’s a sugarcoated statement to shut us up. We know well how the system works, we are not buying it. Nobody wise enough will accept it.
"Stop giving us a half-cooked solution by people who are not even in this field, or don't even know how the system works, or maybe don't even bother to think thoroughly about it because the problem is not theirs," they said in a statement posted on the movement's Facebook.
"Hartal (strike) is definitely going on," the group added.

Representatives of the movement are expected to speak more on the issue in a press conference scheduled at 2pm today.




Yesterday, Muhyiddin announced that the government has agreed to provide contract medical officers, dentists and pharmacists career path opportunities at par with their permanent colleagues.
The cabinet had also decided to allow contract officers other benefits such as fully paid study leave, he added. 
However, the statement did not address the group's main demand, which is to get permanent positions for all government contract doctors. 
The government instead offered to extend their contract to a maximum of four years. - Mkini

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