Dr Noor Hisham Assures Sungai Buloh Frontliners Will Be Getting Their Allowances Soon
A medical officer claimed that they have yet to receive the COVID-19 special allowances since March.
By May Vin Ang — 27 Aug 2020, 11:25 AM
Several frontliners from Sungai Buloh Hospital have alleged that they have yet to receive special allowances for their part in battling the COVID-19 pandemic
The issue came to light when healthcare news portal CodeBlue published an anonymous letter on Monday, 24 August, from a medical officer who was relocated to Sungai Buloh when the coronavirus struck the country.
Sungai Buloh Hospital has been the main COVID-19 designated hospital in Malaysia, where many doctors from other states were dispatched to handle the crisis.
They highlighted the difficulties of moving across the country in March without the monetary aid that was promised to them, especially when they have been relocated yet again recently.
The individual said that some medical officers did not receive their relocation allowance in March, as well as their on-call allowances and COVID-19 claims since June
According to them, the doctors have already been pressuring the hospital's finance division for months but have been met with less than satisfactory answers.
"Maybe some people will say, 'Be patient, sooner or later you will get your pay'," they wrote.
"But sir, we've been moving across the country in a very short period of time now. We move here and there. Do the superiors, administration, finance unit, and government think we are all single?"
They said that some of them have children and spouses, which meant they had school fees, caretaker fees, and house rentals to think of, on top of moving between states which incurred more costs.
"Not all of us were born with a silver spoon. We work, we earn money. And we do really need money to settle down in a new place."
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the matter was only brought to his attention recently but he assured that swift action will be taken
"I have asked our administration's finance division to address this issue faced by medical officers in Sungai Buloh Hospital as soon as possible," he said at the COVID-19 update press conference on Tuesday, 25 August, as quoted by New Straits Times.
"I was told it was not all the hospitals, but some officers, and I was told the submission of the claims were not complete."
"I think we need to look into the details and facilitate this as soon as possible as this is not right to our officers on the ground, especially the frontliners."
The matter was also brought up in Parliament recently where it was said the issue could have arose from problems in the payment mechanism.
