PUTRAJAYA, 14 April 2009: Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said a human resource committee has been formed to speed up the recruitment of medical officers or doctors by government hospitals.
The committee is chaired by health ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Nasir Mohd Ashraf and health department director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican.
“The move is necessary as only 53% of the vacant post of medical officer has been filled due to the slow process which can take over three months,” Liow said after launching the ministry’s online recruitment system (SPAT) via the website www.moh.gov.my and the book Senyuman Sihat Sepanjang Hayat by the dental health division.
He said the recruitment of foreign doctors should also be speeded up as the process was complicated as the applications had to go through several departments.
He added there was no reason for the ministry to take a long time to process the applications since the Malaysian Medical Council only took one week to do it.
On the fire at Putrajaya Hospital due to a lightning strike on 11 April, Liow said an investigation was being done to find out why the circuit breaker had failed to function.
“We don’t know who is responsible but we don’t want it to be repeated. The damages will be repaired soon,” he said.
Asked about the collapsed ceiling at Putrajaya Medical Clinic, Liow said it was due to retention of rain water and that it was not a serious problem. — Bernama
