KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The appointment of medical officers on a permanent basis has all this while been based on merit and performance during their housemanship, says Health Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohd Shafiq Abdullah.

       He explained that there was a misinterpretation of the media statement made by Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba last Wednesday (June 23) that included the views of the Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association and Malaysian Islamic Doctors Association.

       Both associations suggested that the government review the recruitment of new medical graduates into public service to ensure that they, especially bumiputra medical graduates, could serve the ministry permanently and help reduce the unemployment rate in the professional field in Malaysia.

       "The ministry’s explanation of the issue raised by both associations was made from the second paragraph of the media statement.

       "Hopefully, this explanation could end the confusion and misinterpretation by all parties on the ministry's transparency and integrity, ” Mohd Shafiq said in a statement on Sunday (June 27).

       He added that the first paragraph, however, was not the ministry’s stand.

       He was responding to a statement issued by the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) on Saturday (June 26) titled "Healthcare is colour blind”, which rejected racial and religious elements in the selection and appointment of medical officers to permanent posts. – Bernama