Disconnected bureaucrats
to blame for shift system’s
failure, says KJ
Ex-health minister Khairy Jamaluddin slams them for only looking at Excel spreadsheets and lacking a practical understanding of hospital operations.
In the Keluar Sekejap podcast today, he blasted the decision-making process, saying it was made by civil servants who lacked a practical understanding of hospital operations.
“This decision was made by those in Putrajaya … administrative and diplomatic (PTD) officers who’ve never worked in hospitals.
“They’re not doctors, or they’re doctors who’ve been in administration for so long they’ve forgotten what it’s like to do real medical work.
“They only look at the hours on Excel spreadsheets and don’t understand the realities faced by medical staff,” he said.
WBB, which sought to limit on-call hours for doctors from 33 to 18 hours, was widely criticised by healthcare workers for cutting their allowances by including extended shifts into the standard 45-hour work week.
The Cabinet ultimately halted its implementation following opposition by interest groups and doctors.
Khairy and his co-host Shahril Hamdan also took aim at what they called the government’s unhealthy dependency on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to address and resolve hot-button issues, especially in the recent approval of the Himpunan Rakyat Benci Rasuah after its initial rejection.
“There are certain individuals in the government who don’t seem democratic or independent in making decisions. It looks like they wait for the prime minister’s final word,” Shahril said.
Khairy said this dependency undermines the freedom of ministers to make their own judgment calls.
“If everything rests on the prime minister’s shoulders, he looks like the saviour, but the other ministers look weak or irrelevant,” he said.
Khairy and Shahril also highlighted the reversal of the decision to stop free tolls for festive seasons, which they said was unfortunate as the initial decision was a fiscally responsible one.
Works minister Alexander Nanta Linggi had announced earlier that the government would no longer offer highway toll exemptions for festive occasions from this year.
However, the decision was reversed after a public backlash, leading to a 50% toll discount during this year’s Chinese New Year holiday period.
Khairy said in the case of doing away with free tolls, ministers must be supported by the Cabinet when making tough decisions.
“If a minister feels they can carry out a decision, they need Cabinet support. Otherwise, the decision won’t hold,” he said.
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