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New Straits Times
20-07-2025
- New Straits Times
Python, smuggled liquor and cigarettes seized in Kulim raid
ALOR STAR: Police have seized over RM400,000 worth of untaxed cigarettes and alcohol, subsidised gas cylinders, and a live python in a multi-agency raid on a sundry shop in Kulim. The joint operation on July 17 was led by the Wildlife Crime Bureau/Special Intelligence Investigation Unit (WCB/PSK) of Bukit Aman's Internal Security and Public Order Department, and involved the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, and the Kulim Municipal Council (MPK). A 35-year-old local man was arrested during the raid. Department director Datuk Seri Azmi Abu Kassim said intelligence gathering led the team to the premises, where they found 118,520 sticks of untaxed cigarettes and 333 bottles and cans of untaxed liquor. Authorities also confiscated a live ball python, 62 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, and RM35,000 in cash. "The total estimated value of the seized items stands at RM416,668, including RM365,168 in untaxed goods, RM15,500 in LPG cylinders, RM1,000 for the wildlife seizure, and RM35,000 in cash," he said in a statement today. The case is being investigated under the Customs Act 1967, Minor Offences Act 1955, Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, Control of Supplies Act 1961, and local government by-laws for operating without a valid business licence. Azmi said the operation was part of an ongoing nationwide effort to tackle smuggling, leakage of subsidised goods, and the illegal wildlife trade. "From Jan 1 to July 17 this year, the WCB/PSK unit has carried out 171 operations nationwide, arresting 301 individuals and seizing items including smuggled goods, illicit wildlife, imitation firearms and electronic waste, with total seizures exceeding RM541 million," he added.
Online Citizen
16-07-2025
- Health
- Online Citizen
Malaysia's health ministry reaffirms efforts to retain doctors as Singapore dangles lucrative job offers
MALAYSIA: Malaysia's Health Ministry (MOH) has reaffirmed its commitment to retaining doctors and healthcare workers within the public health system, despite having no legal authority to prevent them from accepting employment abroad. This comes in response to online discussions sparked by a now-deleted social media post, reportedly shared on Threads by Dr Amanda Elli, a medical doctor and health influencer. The post had advertised a recruitment event offering Malaysian doctors the opportunity to work in Singapore. According to the post, the recruitment session—organised by Talent Angels, an agency authorised to recruit for Singapore's Ministry of Health—is scheduled for August at Traders Hotel, KLCC. The job openings target medical officers and clinical associates, with applicants required to be Malaysian citizens holding a basic medical degree. Graduates from all universities, not just Universiti Malaya (UM) or Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), are reportedly welcome to apply. Dr Elli described the offer as a 'great opportunity' for Malaysian doctors to build savings and potentially return home after working overseas. 'Singapore's MOH is coming directly to Traders Hotel, KLCC to interview GPs and doctors interested in working abroad,' she wrote. 'It's such a great opportunity to gather savings for at least two years and then come back to Malaysia if homesick.' According to her post, the basic annual salary would be SGD110,000 (approximately RM365,000), excluding various benefits such as a monthly accommodation allowance, relocation support, overtime pay, bonuses, flight tickets, insurance, and multiple forms of leave. Singapore's Health Ministry is reportedly conducting direct recruitment efforts in Malaysia, targeting general practitioners and doctors willing to work abroad. According to social media reports, the positions offer an annual starting salary of S$110,000 (≈ RM365,000). 🧵1 — BFM News (@NewsBFM) July 9, 2025 In response, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad acknowledged the right of individuals to pursue overseas opportunities, noting that such cross-border recruitment is in line with international frameworks. 'We cannot block cross-border recruitment. It's an individual right, and this is aligned with the Mutual Recognition Arrangement and the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services. These agreements allow for labour mobility across ASEAN countries, as mutually agreed. That said, we want our doctors, specialists and nurses with post-basic training to stay with us,' he told reporters during the national-level Aedes control mega programme held in conjunction with ASEAN Dengue Day 2025. Nevertheless, Dzulkefly emphasised that the ministry is taking steps to encourage healthcare professionals to remain in Malaysia's healthcare system. He said the ministry is expediting the transition of contract doctors into permanent positions, especially in light of the nation's ongoing demand for medical personnel. 'We won't delay. We are expediting the process to absorb contract workers into permanent roles. As soon as there are vacancies, we will act,' he said. The contract doctor system was initially introduced to accommodate a surge in medical graduates over the past decade amid limited permanent positions. However, Dzulkefly noted that the situation has since changed. 'That situation no longer applies, as the number of medical graduates has dropped significantly. There should now be enough positions available for new permanent appointments,' he added. Housemen Numbers Have Halved Since 2019 The number of housemen at Malaysia's Health Ministry has dropped by more than 50% since 2019, raising concerns about staffing shortages in public hospitals. According to data from the ministry's Human Resources Division, there were 6,134 housemen in 2019, falling to 3,271 in 2023. This decline has also led to an uneven distribution of housemen across government hospitals that offer housemanship. A similar trend is seen in the provisional registration of medical graduates with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC), which also halved over recent years. In 2017, there were 6,147 provisionally registered graduates, compared to just 3,131 in 2022. These figures include graduates from both local and overseas medical schools. Provisional registration allows new doctors to complete general clinical training required for full registration under the Medical Act 1971. The number of medical graduates from local universities has also declined steadily. In 2017, local institutions produced 3,902 graduates, but by 2021, the number had dropped to 2,667. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad acknowledged the issue in an X post in April 2024, stating, 'There was a time where there were 6,000–7,000 medical graduates a year. Now, we have a little over 3,000, which has led to fewer housemen at hospitals.' Healthcare stakeholders have warned that the shortage, if left unresolved, will strain Malaysia's public healthcare system. Hartal Doktor Kontrak spokesman Dr Muhammad Yassin said the group had already predicted the shortfall in 2021. He noted a global trend of students moving away from science-based fields, contributing to fewer medical graduates. In Malaysia, he added, the situation is worsened by longstanding issues linked to the contract system introduced in 2016. Under this system, many Malaysian doctors are only offered short-term contracts by the government. As a result, they earn significantly less than their predecessors and lack access to key civil service benefits. Dr Yassin said this has led to mental stress among healthcare workers, reduced morale, and a greater risk of medical errors. Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz explained that the expansion of medical school enrolments in the late 1990s and early 2000s led to a surge in graduates. However, this prompted a moratorium on intake in 2011. The introduction of the contract system five years later, coupled with declining student numbers, has caused more overseas graduates to remain abroad, further compounding the local manpower shortage.
Malaysian Reserve
16-07-2025
- Health
- Malaysian Reserve
Permanent posts, better pay key to retaining local doctors
by HIDAYATH HISHAM OFFERING permanent positions and more competitive salaries are among the most effective ways to retain local medical graduates and curb the outflow of healthcare professionals abroad. Former Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the government must ensure that doctors are given opportunities to pursue specialist training — whether in a specific field or as family medicine officers — once they complete their housemanship. 'They must also be offered permanent appointments so that their future in the Health Ministry (MOH) is more secure, instead of being placed on two-year contracts that are renewed periodically. 'I believe the most reasonable and effective approach is to provide a clear career path for medical officers. 'This means that once they finish their housemanship, they should be given room to progress in their careers,' he told Utusan Malaysia. The daily earlier reported that a Singapore-based recruitment agency is actively seeking qualified and experienced Malaysian doctors and nurses, luring them with significantly higher salaries and allowances. The agency is expected to hold an open interview session at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur (KL) next month, advertising an annual package worth up to RM365,106, including housing and various other benefits. Following this development, there have been suggestions for the government to impose new conditions or regulations to bind local medical graduates — particularly those sponsored by public bodies like Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) — to serve in the domestic public health sector. However, Dr Lee said such measures would be less effective without strong career assurances and appropriate compensation. He stressed that incentives such as permanent positions, structured specialisation pathways and competitive remuneration are critical in ensuring medical graduates remain in Malaysia. 'When a graduate receives sponsorship from agencies like Mara or the Public Service Department (JPA), they are bound by contract terms. 'If they choose to resign before completing the required service period, they will be subject to penalties as stipulated in the agreement,' he said.
Focus Malaysia
10-07-2025
- Health
- Focus Malaysia
Of Singapore's 'Talent Angels' snatching away already scarce Malaysian healthcare professionals
LIKE it or not, Malaysia's Health Ministry (MOH) has found itself 'under siege' with the country's shortage of doctors and nurses not going away anytime soon but only bound to worsen with neighbouring Singapore coming to town with a major recruitment drive of the country's 'unappreciated' healthcare professionals. This has compelled some industry influencers to wonder if MOH has a counter-strategy under its sleeves or will end up being a sitting duck with Singapore's 'Talent Angels' lurking to further aggravate Malaysia's brain drain of healthcare professionals. 'Look at how aggressive Singapore is hunting our talents. This is no longer brain drain. This is brain hijack,' asserted Thromboxane A2 Inhibitor (@azmanrocks) on X. Look at how aggressive Singapore is hunting our talents. This is no longer brain drain. This is brain hijack. Now how aggressive are we in retaining our talents? Talent Angels are talent agents authorized by Singapore MOH Holdings, recruiters for Singapore government hospitals. — Thromboxane A2 Inhibitor (@azmanrocks) July 8, 2025 'Now how aggressive are we in retaining our talents? Talent Angels (recruitment firm) are talent agents authorised by Singapore's MOH Holdings Pte Ltd; they're recruiters for Singapore government hospitals.' The poster's concern has stemmed from a viral social media post by Hospital Kuala Lumpur medical officer Dr Amanda Elli who is deemed a KOL (key opinion leader) in the Malaysian healthcare industry. The medical aesthetician who is dubbed 'Dr Unicorn' has shared posters of the alluring job openings as medical officer with a starting salary of S$110,000/annum (RM365,367/annum) excluding fringe benefits, monthly accommodation allowance and insurance. 'Such a great opportunity to kumpul (collect) for at least two years before returning to Malaysia if homesick,' she shared. 'Application link on my IG profile's stories highlight (the said post has presumably been deleted while her Instagram page is inaccessible at the time of writing). Based on the exchanges that the post by @azmanrocks generated, it can be assumed Singapore's dire need for foreign healthcare talent can be attributed to two likelihoods: Singapore is building more hospitals to cater to its aging population following which Malaysians are easiest to recruit because of cultural and language similarities; and Many existing Singaporean and Filipino healthcare professionals have migrated to work in Australia (which working hours is only 38 hours/week) post the COVID-19 period. In another post, fellow healthcare influencer HartalDoktorKontrak (@HKontrak) sarcastically wished Malaysia's MOH and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad 'Good Luck'. Good luck @KKMPutrajaya @DrDzul — HartalDoktorKontrak (@HKontrak) July 8, 2025 Surely the salary disparity coupled with workload/working condition between what Malaysian nurses can expect to earn in Singapore is akin to comparing heaven and earth after taking into account the favourable Singapore dollar exchange rate. At the end of the day, it is an open market out there although one commenter appealed to 'those who studied under JPA/MARA/Zakat or whatever scholarship to serve their bond which are derived from taxpayers' money prior to leaving MOH or even to migrate abroad to seek greener pasture'. Another concluded that those wanting to migrate should he encouraged to do so to teach MOH a lesson 'about our underpaid doctors etc when living cost is rising every month but salary plateau for years'. – July 10, 2025
The Star
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
TVB star Niklas Lam goes to China for tooth extraction, cites higher costs in HK
Hong Kong actor Niklas Lam once juggled up to five part-time jobs to make ends meet. Photo: Niklas Lam/Instagram Just over a month ago, Hong Kong actor Niklas Lam revealed that he had to juggle up to five part-time jobs since joining the entertainment industry in 2017 to make ends meet. While Lam, 30, may have gained widespread popularity in 2023 for his role in the hit series The Queen Of News , his path to financial stability remains a challenging one. In a recent vlog, the TVB star revealed that he had travelled all the way to Shenzhen, China, to get his tooth extracted as the cost was much cheaper than in Hong Kong. Lam said extracting just one tooth in Hong Kong would've cost him between HK$700 (RM380) and HK$2,500 (RM1,360), but in Shenzhen, he paid 630 yuan (RM365) to have two removed. 'I'm lucky I didn't have to get my wisdom tooth removed because that would've cost even more in Hong Kong,' he added. According to the actor, extracting a wisdom tooth in Hong Kong costs around HK$5,000 (RM2,720), and if surgery is required, the price could reach up to HK$8,000 (RM4,351). Meanwhile, a wisdom tooth extraction in Shenzhen only costs 700 yuan (RM405). '(The price difference) is ridiculous. Will an actor in Hong Kong be very rich? The truth is they won't. If they're solely relying on their job as an artiste for income, they won't have enough to feed themselves,' Lam lamented. Many netizens have since flooded the comments, expressing shock at the high cost of living in Hong Kong. 'No wonder my cousin goes to Shenzhen every week for groceries,' said one netizen. Another added: 'The price difference is enough to buy a new phone.'
