Malaysia's Health Ministry has said it will work directly with the Indian government to hire qualified medical specialists to help tackle the shortage of doctors in this country.
Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said his ministry had advertised in the foreign media for specialists but the applicants were not very good, local media reported.
Apart from India, Malaysia will also work with the governments of Egypt and Pakistan to hire qualified medical specialists, he said.
Malaysia wants to project itself as a medical tourism hub but lack of medical specialists in some areas is coming up as an obstacle in this path.
"The doctors who replied to our advertisements were qualified but many of them were sent back because of attitude problems," the minister said.
"Of course, these doctors also had to go through an interview locally. But, sometimes, they could not perform according to our expectations," he said.
By working directly with the governments, "we would be able to hire better doctors, as they would be vetted by both the foreign and local governments," he said.
Liow said the Egyptian Health Ministry submitted a list of 58 specialists who would be recruited to work in local hospitals or medical facilities.
"The Egyptian government has given these specialists sabbatical leave. So, many of them are more than willing to leave their country and serve here," he said, adding that the agreement was for these doctors to serve only for two years.
Liow said the same system would be applied to recruit specialists from India and Pakistan.
