{
  "id": 17733270,
  "title": "KKM kekurangan 1,176 pemandu, termasuk ambulans",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/kkm-kekurangan-1-176-pemandu-termasuk-ambulans-17733270",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T01:56:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/11/02/kkm-kekurangan-1-176-pemandu-kenderaan-termasuk-ambulans"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Malaysian Health Ministry (KKM) is facing a shortage of 1,176 vehicle drivers, including ambulances, expected to persist for six months until April next year. As of September 30th, only 7,687 out of 8,863 assistant position (Pemanduan) jobs were filled, with the highest vacancy rate recorded in Peninsular Malaysia at 1,003 drivers, followed by Sarawak (92), Sabah (73), and Labuan (8). The shortfall is due to delays in filling assistant positions following a temporary suspension in recruitment by the Public Services Department (JPA) through the Public Services Authority (SPA) in 2024. KKM claims the suspension is to pave the way for the implementation of the new Public Service Personnel System (SSPA). The new system combines ambulance driver recruitment under the Malaysia Service Personnel System (SPS) into an assistant (Pemanduan) position under the Skills Classification (H). This change requires thorough assessment of eligibility to ensure candidates are suitable and competent for the duties, particularly in operating ambulances. KKM emphasizes that the new system encourages a broader scope of duties, various skills, and multi-tasking. On October 16th, Berita Harian reported KKM's shortage of ambulance drivers across all health facilities after 400 new ambulances were announced in the 2027 budget. KKM's President of Subang Malaya Assistant Personnel Union, Reostam Dzahar, urged KKM to address the driver shortage immediately, warning that the excessive workload is causing drivers to burnout due to being forced to work beyond their allocated hours. KKM stated that the recruitment process needs to take into account vacancies, retirements, and staff turnover, as well as operational needs. It expects the filling of assistant personnel vacancies to be done incrementally starting April next year. Based on the JPA-SPA recruitment status, applications are still being processed by SPA and the new UKP exams are completed on October 27th. Recruitment will be done incrementally starting April 2027, subject to the resolution of recruitment issues by SPA. The transition to the SSPA operation requires coordinating task requirements and placement to separate the scope of duties between assistant (Pemanduan) and general service (Am). For example, if an assistant (Am) is needed for ambulance duties at a specific government facility, the decision rests with the state health department or the department head, but it is subject to operational needs, driving tests, and competence. For assistant (Pemanduan), the role involves integrating the previous ambulance driver function with the new focus on vehicle maintenance duties, including ambulances at each facility location. General service personnel duties focus on supporting tasks as needed by the department, including personnel from support operation personnel and general public assistants before the SSPA implementation.",
  "summary": "Ia akibat kelewatan mengisi jawatan pembantu khidmat am (Pemanduan) susulan penangguhan urusan pengambilan oleh Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam pada 2024.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}