LETTER | The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) acknowledges and welcomes the government’s decision to cancel the Flexible Working Hours (WBB) pilot project pending further in-depth and comprehensive study on the matter.

This decision is appropriate considering the numerous concerns raised by MMA, other doctors, and doctors’ groups about its potential impact on both the affected doctors and public healthcare services.

We also fully support the ministry’s establishment of a dedicated task force to strengthen healthcare delivery and improve working-hour scheduling.

Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, a former health director-general, is a welcomed choice as the head of this task force. His vast experience will undoubtedly contribute significantly to achieving its intended aims and objectives.

The MMA once again thanks the health minister and his team for meeting with us on Thursday to discuss the WBB, on-call allowances, and other challenges faced by public-sector doctors.

We remain committed to supporting the ministry in its efforts to enhance healthcare delivery and look forward to continuing to collaborate with it.

We also look forward to engaging with the newly set up task force as MMA has always espoused the importance and need for stakeholder engagement right from the initial stages of any policy planning.

We trust this approach will be adopted going forward.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.