Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi has rejected claims by certain parties that the state government’s efforts to address the shortage of doctors and nurses in Johor are merely a publicity stunt.
He said statements by certain politicians attempting to politicise the state’s healthcare issues needed to be corrected, stressing that the Johor government would never compromise on matters involving the lives, health and welfare of its people.
Onn Hafiz said the shortage of medical officers and nurses in Johor had reached a critical stage, and the state government was only seeking the fulfilment of commitments previously made by the Health Ministry (MOH).
“The state government has been forced to highlight and demand the fulfilment of promises made by the MOH through the media and social media because this issue has been raised through proper channels since 2023.
“Last year, the MOH also met with the Regent of Johor and agreed to resolve the staffing issue,” he said in a statement.
He said the ministry had previously agreed to immediately fill critical vacancies at Hospital Sultanah Aminah (HSA), Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) and Hospital Kulai, while increasing manpower at Hospital Pasir Gudang.
However, Onn Hafiz said the staffing shortage affecting Johor’s healthcare sector remained unresolved to date.
He added that he was informed the Public Service Department (JPA) had given the MOH authority to manage and distribute healthcare positions according to the needs of each facility.
While awaiting further action from the ministry, Onn Hafiz said the state government was not merely observing or pressuring the federal government, but had also introduced various initiatives to ease the burden on healthcare facilities.
Among the measures taken include funding locum doctor placements at major hospitals such as HSA and HSI to help emergency departments reduce waiting times and ease the workload of existing staff, as well as establishing Southern Volunteers Healthcare.
The state government has also improved healthcare workers’ welfare by upgrading more than 460 pantry rooms at healthcare facilities across Johor, providing postal medicine delivery services and expanding facilities such as Locker4U to reduce the need for patients to visit healthcare centres solely to collect repeat medication.
In addition, Johor has provided additional ambulances, assets and medical equipment to hospitals and healthcare facilities, while introducing the Klinik Decanting initiative to relocate certain services to alternative locations to reduce congestion.
Onn Hafiz said the state government had also collaborated with the private sector, including KPJ Healthcare, to support healthcare services through expertise and manpower.
“Therefore, it is clear that the Johor government is not merely putting on a show when it comes to the lives, health and welfare of Bangsa Johor. As I have said, we are only demanding what was promised,” he said.
