The Indonesian consulate-general in Johor Bahru has proposed allowing Indonesian nurses to work in Malaysia to alleviate the manpower shortage in the healthcare sector.
The consul-general of Indonesia in Johor Bahru, Sigit S Widiyanto, said the move would benefit both countries as Malaysia is facing a shortage of healthcare workers — including nurses — while Indonesia has a surplus in the field.
In a Bernama report, Sigit expressed confidence that Indonesians would have no difficulty adjusting to living in Malaysia as both countries share a similar language and culture.
He also said Indonesian nurses are well qualified to work in Malaysia as they are already employed in other countries like Australia, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Singapore.
“If Indonesian nurses can work in those countries, surely they can work in Malaysia.
“Asean member countries have agreed that nursing is among the professions open for cross-border mobility. Of course, there needs to be skill alignment and compliance with existing regulations, but that shouldn’t be a major issue.”
Sigit said Indonesia has already begun state-level collaboration with a hospital in Johor, including starting the process of recruiting candidates.
He said this required approval from the health ministry, the Malaysia Nursing Board and other relevant parties.
Sigit also said the consulate plans to focus on recruiting nurses from the Riau and Riau Islands provinces as a starting point to place healthcare professionals in Malaysian hospitals. He noted that there are health education institutions under Indonesia’s health ministry which could serve as key sources for nursing candidates.
“We’ve already discussed establishing a twinning programme to allow graduates in Indonesia to pursue six months of further study in Malaysia before starting work here,” he said.
Earlier, Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi said major hospitals in Johor Bahru are facing a critical shortage of healthcare staff, with some nurses managing 10 to 14 patients per shift. He said the ideal ratio is 1:6.
The International Council of Nurses last year called on the government to develop a long-term plan to address a critical shortage of nurses.
The council said Malaysia’s shortage – projected to reach nearly 60% of the total nursing workforce by 2030 – had been exacerbated by high-income nations hiring experienced nurses from Asia, attracting them with better pay and working conditions.
Last June, the health ministry said it was addressing 6,787 vacant nursing posts caused by both existing vacancies and newly created positions following facility upgrades.
