KUCHING: The move to cease the critical service allowance will demoralise the upcoming batch of new healthcare professionals and may affect productivity or even compromise the quality of care given to patients, said Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
“This should not be how we treat our future civil servants who need to work day in and day out, taking long shifts at the hospital and also exposing themselves to diseases and infections,” he said.
He was referring to a recent circular by the Public Service Department (JPA) which said that the critical service allowance would no longer be provided to doctors, nurses, engineers and other professionals joining the civil service starting January 1 next year.
Yii expressed his objection to the circular, pointing out that the majority of critical service workers were already underpaid, underappreciated and overworked.
“This is in line with a recent audit report which clearly stated that our public healthcare system is understaffed, overcrowded, underfunded and overstretched.
“While I understand the need to be prudent in our expenditures, austerity should start in other areas, even right from the top, without affecting those who really need it — not just as an act of appreciation but also motivation to keep them in the public service,” he said.
He said that more doctors were required in the public sector as a further increase of patient load was to be expected, especially in view of the aging society and prevalent non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“I would rather they cut the allowances of politicians — including myself — rather than these young healthcare professionals or other civil servants in the critical sector.”
