# Sabah Loses a Net 244 Medical Officers as 64% of Outside Postings Fail to Report

> CodeBlue reports that Sabah lost a net 244 medical officers in the latest permanent-appointment round, with 171 of 269 doctors posted from outside the state not reporting for duty.

SmartMeet Desk · 2026-10-12 · https://blog.smartmeet.cloud/sabah-loses-a-net-244-medical-officers-as-64-of-outside-postings-fail-to-report

CodeBlue reported on October 12 that the Malaysian state of Sabah recorded a net loss of 244 medical officers (MOs) after the latest round of permanent appointments, based on state health department (JKNS) data dated October 7, as sighted by the publication [1]. October 7 was the deadline for appointees to report for duty [1]. Of 269 MOs posted to Sabah from outside the state, 89 reported, 171 did not, a no-show rate of 64%, and nine deferred, while 333 doctors transferred out of Sabah for permanent posts [1].

## Where the losses fell

Of the 244-officer deficit, 219 fell on hospitals and 25 on public health services, meaning district health offices and public health clinics [1]. In hospitals, 271 MOs transferred out and 52 arrived from outside Sabah [1]. All but two of the 24 government hospitals listed by JKNS recorded deficits: Tambunan Hospital gained one MO and Kuala Penyu Hospital had no net change [1]. The largest net losses were at the Sabah Women and Children's Hospital (36), Queen Elizabeth Hospital (33) and Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan (26), followed by Tawau (23), Lahad Datu (19), Queen Elizabeth II (17), Keningau (13) and Tuaran (10) [1].

No-show rates differed by setting [1]:

- Hospitals: of 138 postings from outside Sabah, 80 were no-shows (58%), 52 reported (38%) and six deferred (4%) [1].
- Public health: of 131 postings, 91 were no-shows (69%), 37 reported (28%) and three deferred (2%) [1].
- Five hospitals received none of their outside postings: Papar (one), Tenom (five), Sipitang (six), Beluran (five) and Kunak (four) [1].

The overall figure looks less severe. All 242 MOs already serving in Sabah who received permanent offers in the state reported, bringing total uptake to 331 of 511 offers, or 65% [1]. An anonymous source told CodeBlue that this 65% includes doctors already working in Sabah and that the outside-posting figure was the more concerning one [1].

## Why it matters for care teams

The story makes a distinction that health managers will recognise: a posting assigned on paper is not a clinician on the rota [1]. CodeBlue also notes that the size of a net loss does not by itself show how hard a facility is hit, because operational burden depends on needed staff versus available staff [1]. Only 12 hospitals had data on needed manpower, and all 12 were understaffed as of October 7 [1]. Five were running below 60% operational capacity: Ranau (45%), Beluran (50%), Kudat (56%), Sipitang (56%) and Kinabatangan (57%) [1]. The remaining seven ranged from 80% at Kuala Penyu to 93% at Tambunan, with none at full capacity [1].

Some facilities face both pressures at once. Ranau, at 45% capacity, also had an 86% no-show rate among outside postings, and Beluran and Sipitang, each with no outside postings reporting, were running at 50% and 56% respectively [1]. The longer trend frames the round: JKNS data show the number of MOs in Sabah fell by 44%, from 3,908 in 2021 to 2,208 in October 2026 [1]. The source described the current workforce bluntly: "Many MOs are stretched to breaking point." [1]

## What to watch next

- Reconciliation of the figures: JKNS data show 331 of 511 offers taken up (65%), while Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told Parliament on October 8 that 336 of 528 offers in Sabah were taken up (64%) [1].
- Staffing-need data for the hospitals with double-digit deficits, which CodeBlue says was not available [1].
- The outcome of the nine deferrals among outside postings, which the story does not resolve [1].

## Limitations

The figures come from JKNS data sighted by CodeBlue rather than a published dataset, and part of the interpretation rests on an anonymous source [1]. The data are a snapshot as of the October 7 reporting deadline, and operational-capacity measures were available for only 12 hospitals [1]. The story does not report reasons for the no-shows or effects on patient services, so neither can be inferred from it [1].

## References

1. codeblue.galencentre.org. Sabah Loses Over 240 Doctors, 64% No-Shows Among Postings From Outside Sabah. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2026/10/sabah-loses-over-240-doctors-64-no-shows-among-postings-from-outside-sabah/