SG should pay M’sian gov’t for ‘aggressive’ poaching of doctors & nurses, says M’sian ex-minister

SINGAPORE: In a Facebook post from earlier this week, a former Malaysian minister addressed the “brain drain” of medical professionals in his country. Countries that recruit doctors and nurses should pay Malaysia a fee, he wrote, pointedly mentioning Singapore.

In his post on Tuesday (Sept 9), Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who had formerly been in charge of Malaysia’s Economic Planning Unit, wrote that “the exodus of Malaysian-trained doctors and nurses to foreign countries, especially Singapore, has caused anxiety and stirred debates in Malaysia.”

He also called it “a national crisis in the making” that needs “to be urgently resolved by the government.”

While acknowledging that the issue is not a new one and that Malaysia’s acute shortage of medical professionals is partly “self-inflicted,” Mr Rahman appeared to lay the blame on “aggressive poaching” by other countries and zeroed in on Singapore, which he claimed has been “tapping on our inexpensive but capable human capital… by weaponizing their greatest strength, their deep pocket” for years.

Mr Rahman referred to staff from Singapore’s Ministry of Health going to Kuala Lumpur to interview prospective medical professionals, which he called unprecedented. Whereas interviews had been held discreetly in the past, they are now “open, aggressive and ’in-your-face’ marketing campaigns.”

Mr Rahman believes that Singapore’s being able to afford to do this is a thorn in the side of Malaysians, and he said that the city-state’s actions would undermine its neighbour’s endeavours to provide healthcare to its people, especially in underserved locations such as Sabah and Sarawak.

He further characterised this as “’capitalism without soul’ especially in the context of ASEAN spirit.”

Ex-minister believes compensation is the solution

Given that Malaysia subsidises the studies and training of medical professionals, he believes that its government should negotiate with Singapore for the amount it spent on training doctors and nurses. The funds collected could then be spent on improving healthcare services to Malaysians, especially in locations that are underserved.

“That is the only fair thing to do,” the former minister wrote.

As an alternative to this one-off compensation, he suggested an additional levy, apart from income tax, that would be based on medical professionals’ contracts and income.

“That way, the Malaysian government can mitigate some of its losses by way of subsidies spent on its students.

Again, this is the only fair thing to do,” he added.

In both these cases, it would be the employer in Singapore who would pay, and not the medical professional from Malaysia, whom Mr Rahman believes should not be punished for seeking greener pastures overseas.

“This approach is a win-win situation for everyone. Singaporean hospitals get the doctors and nurses that they need, while the Malaysian government recovers the huge subsidies they spend on these doctors and nurses and reinvests that money in the provision of healthcare services,” he wrote. /TISG

Read also: Malaysia’s brain drain: More Malaysian skilled and semi-skilled workers employed in Singapore and Brunei