KOTA KINABALU — Training more Sabah-born students to become doctors is seen as among the best long-term solutions to address the shortage of medical officers in the state, particularly in rural areas.

Sabah Medical Services Union (SMSU) president Ajulahin Japin said locals were generally more willing to serve in their home state, whether in rural, suburban or urban areas.

He said the number of medical graduates among Sabah-born students was currently still insufficient to fill existing vacancies.

“If we look at Sabah and Sarawak, locals are actually more willing to serve in their home states compared with personnel from the Peninsula.

“For some young people from the Peninsula, when Sabah and Sarawak are mentioned, there may still be a perception that postings here involve village or rural settings. The perception of comfort may be one of the factors causing them to be less interested in coming to work in Sabah,” said the president of the Joint Council of Presidents and Secretaries-General of the Health Ministry Workers Union (MAPSU) 

Ajulahin said the shortage of medical graduates from Sabah had resulted in the state still having to rely on medical officers from the Peninsula to fill vacancies at hospitals and health clinics in the state.

In this regard, he said the government needed to give attention to increasing the intake and training of Sabah-born students in medicine as a step towards reducing reliance on personnel from outside the state in the future.

According to him, a survey conducted by MAPSU also found that some doctors from the Peninsula were less inclined to accept postings in Sabah, particularly in rural areas.

He said factors identified included the Regional Incentive Allowance (BIW) and allowances related to postings in rural areas, which were currently frozen.

Ajulahin said the BIW was previously paid at a rate of between 17 and 25 per cent of basic salary, while the rural allowance was about 10 per cent of basic salary.