Malaysia needs doctors from RI

SEMARANG, Central Java: Malaysia needs some 800 doctors and paramedics from Indonesia immediately, particularly from the province of Central Java, said a senior official with the Central Java administration on Thursday.

Once they were accepted, the doctors and paramedics were slated to be deployed to public health centers throughout Malaysia, said Tjipto Hartono, the head of Central Java administration's Manpower and Transmigration Office.

Tjipto did not spell out the specific number of paramedics and doctors required by the Malaysian authorities.

According to him, doctors and paramedics from Central Java were preferred by Malaysia on the grounds that they had similar language, culture and religion to Malaysian people.

Tjipto estimated that at least 4,000 doctors currently working in Central Java province were being offered the opportunity to work in Malaysia, after they had fulfilled their contracts of work in the province. -- Antara