Malaysia has yet to enter into discussions or received official requests regarding a proposal to deploy Indonesian nurses to serve in public hospitals, says health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
However, Dzulkefly said his ministry had taken note of the remarks made by Indonesia’s consul-general in Johor Bahru, Sigit S Widiyanto.
He said the ministry was also aware of concerns raised by Cuepacs, the umbrella body for civil service unions, Berita Harian reported.
“We are aware that various parties, including Cuepacs, NGOs, and the Malayan Nurses Union, have raised numerous issues about this matter.
“But the fact remains – there have been no official discussions and the health ministry has not received any formal request,” he told reporters after attending an event in Kangar today.
On Aug 5, Bernama reported that Sigit had proposed allowing Indonesian nurses to work in Malaysia to alleviate the manpower shortage in the healthcare sector.
Sigit said the move would benefit both countries as Malaysia is facing a shortage of healthcare workers, including nurses, while Indonesia has a surplus.
He also said Indonesia had already begun state-level collaboration with a hospital in Johor, including starting the process of recruiting candidates.
Sigit said this required approval from the health ministry, the Malaysia Nursing Board and other relevant parties.
In a separate development, Dzulkefly said the ministry was looking into the status of community nurses, who graduated under the promotion by appointment (PSL) programme but were still waiting for permanent placements to fill vacancies.
“Yes, we are mapping the postings to ensure they remain in their current localities. We will assign them accordingly.
“We estimate there are over 1,800 PSL-trained community nurses in the country.
“We are working to place them as soon as possible. The matter is already being addressed.”
