Over half of appointed medical officers fail to report for duty in Sarawak, says Dr Sim

Over half of appointed medical officers fail to report for duty in Sarawak, says Dr Sim



Dr Sim said Sarawak continues to face a critical shortage of medical officers, with more than half of those appointed failing to report for duty on October 1. — The Borneo Post pic

Tuesday, 07 Oct 2025 2:22 PM MYT


KUCHING, Oct 7 — A total 293 of the 542 medical officer positions offered in Sarawak by the Ministry of Health (MoH) remain unfilled as the appointed officers failed to report for duty on Oct 1.

In revealing this to reporters today, Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian said there are around 1,100 vacancies for medical officers in the state.

“We requested 650 candidates to fill these positions. However, we were only given 542 and of those only 249 reported for duty, while 54 per cent did not.

“So, more failed to report for duty than those who did,” he said after launching Sarawak General Hospital’s World Osteoporosis Day 2025.


Dr Sim said he hoped the upcoming meeting of the Technical Committee under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Implementation Action Council would reach a consensus to address the issue.

“It is understood that the meeting will involve the minister of finance, the minister of economy, the attorney general, and other relevant parties to plan for the next five years,” he said, without disclosing the meeting date.

Dr Sim called on the public to understand the government’s financial and manpower constraints across all major hospitals in the state, but reiterated the ministry remains committed to saving lives.


It was previously reported that Sarawak faces around 11,000 medical service sector vacancies across various positions at the state’s seven main hospitals.

This came to light following an MoH visit in July, which highlighted the severity of the staff shortages in these key hospitals. — The Borneo Post