If you’ve ever sat in a Malaysian government clinic, you’ve probably noticed the waiting time is… let’s say, character-building.
Long queues, overworked doctors, and an understaffed system that somehow keeps running, that’s the reality for millions of Malaysians.
And behind the scenes, a quiet exodus has been unfolding: more and more Malaysian doctors are packing their bags for Singapore, the UK, or Australia.
But why? And is it really just about the money? We sat down with two doctors; a dentist and a junior medical officer to get the ground-level truth.
So what’s actually pushing people to Singapore?
Ask any Malaysian doctor, and the answer is rarely one-dimensional. Dr Derrick, who graduated from Universiti Malaya and now works at a government dental clinic, says he’s watched many of his peers make the leap and the reasons are consistent.
From my observation, most of them told me it’s better career planning. They claim there’s better opportunity as a specialist, and better income.”
Better pay, faster progression to specialisation, and a clearer career pathway on paper, Singapore makes a compelling case.
Dr May, a junior medical officer with four years under her belt, adds another layer: the structure of training itself differs.
In Malaysia, you spend two years in housemanship, then another two years as a medical officer, before you can even apply for a specialty programme.
In the UK, the equivalent foundationship takes two years and by the third year, you’re already eligible to apply for specialty training.
“So if you were to compare, yes, it’s going to be slightly faster in the UK.”
The workload is very real
Before anyone dismisses this as “they just want an easy life abroad,” let’s talk about what working in Malaysia’s government sector actually looks like.
For Dr Derrick, a typical day means seeing up to 30 patients, not just for consultation, but for actual treatments: fillings, extractions, scaling. “The time given is not that long,” he says. “Workload, I’d say stressful but manageable.”
For Dr May, the picture is more intense. Regular ward days are already demanding, but the on-call system is where things get particularly brutal.
During on calls, you probably don’t get sleep or very minimal sleep. You have 2-5 doctors in a ward during the day, but on call, it would be 1 doctor for 2 wards.”
One doctor. Two wards. New admissions, unstable patients, and a stream of smaller issues from nurses; a patient’s blood sugar is off, another can’t sleep, all of it landing on one set of shoulders from morning until the next evening.
“In the UK, shifts are split into day and night rotations. Doctor work their hours and go home, they don’t carry a ward solo through the night and into the next afternoon.”
“I can be anyone’s doctor, but I can only be a daughter to my parents”
Here’s where the story gets genuinely moving. Because for all the structural advantages of working abroad, both doctors we spoke to chose to stay in Malaysia and family was the anchor for both of them.
Dr Derrick is matter-of-fact about it: “The obvious factor is family. I don’t want to go abroad because I have family here and I’ve decided to stay with them.”
Dr May’s journey to that same decision was harder.
She graduated from Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia; a degree recognised by the British medical system and actually received an offer to do her housemanship in the UK. She turned it down.
“I can be anyone’s doctor, but I can only be a daughter to my parents. They will need me to be with them.”
She’s honest that it wasn’t an easy call. She spent a year thinking it through, had long discussions and arguments with her parents, weighing the pros and cons of each path.
Working abroad was, as she puts it, “a dream of mine” in her mid-20s. But in the end, she chose Malaysia. For now.
It’s not always about money and we should stop assuming it is
Dr May makes a point worth sitting with: we tend to assume people leave for money or a better life, but we rarely know what’s really behind each individual decision.
Maybe back then when you first became a medical student, you just thought of yourself. But over time you might have a partner, be building a family, have children and your identity changes.“
She describes it as a balancing act; emotional, financial, physical where you’re not just responsible for your patients, but for being someone’s child, someone’s partner, someone’s parent.
People call us ‘Doctor’ at work, but back at home, we’re still someone’s mum, someone’s dad.”
It’s a humanising reminder that the brain drain isn’t a moral failing. It’s people making complicated, deeply personal decisions at a point in their lives when identity, responsibility, and ambition are all pulling in different directions at once.
Singapore specifically, who can even go?
One practical point that often gets missed: Singapore doesn’t recognise all Malaysian medical universities.
Dr May recalls that, to her knowledge, Singapore generally recognises graduates from UM, USM, and UKM for direct application.
If you graduated from another institution, the path is longer, you’d need to sit additional qualifying exams like the MRCP though it’s still possible to enter as a medical officer.
This means the flow of doctors to Singapore isn’t simply “whoever wants to go.” There are structural gates that shape who even has the option.
So what now?
Neither Dr Derrick nor Dr May is going anywhere for the moment. But neither rules it out entirely either.
The conversation around Malaysia’s medical brain drain is often framed as loyalty versus greed, patriotism versus pragmatism but the reality, as these two doctors show, is far messier and more human than that.
What’s clear is this: the system that’s asking doctors to stay needs to make staying feel less like a sacrifice.
Better work-life balance, faster pathways to specialisation, and compensation that reflects the gruelling reality of the job; these aren’t luxuries. They’re the reason doctors choose to build their careers here instead of somewhere else.
Watch our exclusive interview here:
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