Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa has expressed regret over complaints there are medical practitioners who had to be sacked after being absent from work for an extended period of time.

He said the Public Service Department (PSD) and the ministry concerned should resolve the issue as this had an effect on the professional reputation of medical practitioners and the image of the country.

He was commenting on a report from the health ministry's disciplinary committee that new officers undergoing housemanship had failed to turn up for work for a long period of time, even hundreds of days, as they were believed to be unable to take the stress in the workplace.

"Perhaps, they cannot perform their duties in a real-life situation due to work stress whereas other medical practitioners have been doing so since (the days of) Independence," Ali told a press conference after a visit to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) here today.

He said medical officers who often 'disappeared' from work should remember the sacrifices of their parents who had to spend hundreds of thousands of ringgit to pay for their studies.

Earlier in his speech to HTAR staff, Ali said the number of sackings involving civil servants in the medical sector was among the highest in the country.

On claims that Malaysia had the highest number of civil servants compared to other countries, he said this comparison was incorrect because the definition of civil service was different in each country.

He said the number of civil servants in the country was high because Malaysia recognised critical services and that of the Fire and Rescue Department as civil service as compared to other countries which did otherwise.

Earlier this month, Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani was reported as saying there was one civil servant for every 19.37 people in the country.

The media has reported that the ratio of civil servants to the population in other countries such as Singapore was 1:71.4 people; Indonesia (1:110); Korea (01:50); China (1:108); Japan (1:28); Russia (1:84) and, the United Kingdom (1:118). - BERNAMA