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Hundreds of Malaysian junior doctors walked out of 15 to 20 hospitals nationwide in protest of the lack of career opportunities and progression, Malaysiakini reported.

The protest happened on Monday (July 26), with doctors joining in a coordinated walkout session that started around 11am and lasted for an hour.

They returned to work after the walkout ended.

Walked out despite being threatened by their superiors

Several photos and videos of the protest were seen on social media using the hashtag #hartaldoktorkontrak.

Hospital Putrajaya walkout. pic.twitter.com/PEu3GN0O8C

— avenfauzi △⃒⃘ (@avenfauzi) July 26, 2021

Fight for your right, guys! #HartalDoktorKontrak #hoshas pic.twitter.com/15DDIUR04u

— munirah mohamad (@AiraMohd) July 26, 2021

Wearing black and holding up some placards that read "We are still contract doctors", and "We are your future specialists", they walked out of the hospitals despite their superiors threatening to take action against them.

Leading up to the walkout, Malaysiakini reported that at least 15 doctors in a public hospital in Klang Valley have resigned over the past two weeks.

Among them, two gave 24-hour notice period with reasons cited lack of progression and burn out.

Police investigating the walkout

Malay Mail reported that the police will be looking into the walkout staged by the healthcare workers due to the possible breach of Covid-19 regulations.

Mohamad Zainal Abdullah, the chief of police of Dang Wangi, an area in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, said they will start investigations since gatherings at any premises within any infected local area, without obtaining prior permission from the director-general of health, is not allowed. 

Malaysia's Human Rights Commissioner Mah Weng Kwai, who was present to monitor the protests, said that there "nothing negative" to report on the movement and that it "seems like there are more police than doctors", Malaysiakini reported. 

He added that the Human Rights Commission will study both sides, and seek to balance between the health of the patients and the interests of the doctors.

Contract doctors' grievances

Says reported that contract doctors were introduced in 2016 as a measure to address the influx of medical graduates in Malaysia.

These doctors were offered a four-year housemanship contract with public hospitals.

However, these doctors were only offered an extension of their contracts rather than being absorbed as a full-time staff.

New Straits Times reported that only 789 out of 23,077 contract doctors appointed from December 2016 to May 2021 were given full-time employment. 

Which means more than 96 per cent of the contract doctors newly-appointed during this period in Malaysia are not receiving the same benefits and salary as their full-time counterparts.

The contract these junior doctors are under also make it difficult for them to undergo training to be a specialist, which can take up to four years.

Doctors not appeased by Muhyiddin's promises

The government tried to address the doctors' grievances on Friday (July 23), just a few days before the planned protest.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yasin said that his government will give an extension of another four years to these contract doctors, Malay Mail reported.

He said that the move will allow doctors who are pursuing their specialisations to complete their studies.

He further said that the government understood the career prospect of these doctors, and had instructed the country's health ministry to look into the short and long term progress for them.

His assurances, however, were not received well by the doctors, who think that the government did not address the salary and benefit gaps between contract and full-time employees, The Star reported.

Top image by @avenfauzi & @amirfariz__ on Twitter