Part of our Nursing Councils of the World series. Last checked: November 2026.
Malaysia’s public hospitals had 84,000 nursing positions in September 2025, and about 14,700 of them, roughly 18%, were empty. In June 2026, Indonesia offered to send up to 15,000 nurses to help, and the Foreign Minister said Malaysia was considering the proposal. Nursing groups pushed back hard: hire and keep Malaysians first, they said, and fix pay and working conditions before looking abroad.
This guide explains Malaysia’s nursing shortage, the Indonesian nurses proposal, what the Malaysian Nurses Association, the Malayan Nurses Union and the Malaysian Male Nurses Association are saying, the debate over entry requirements and allowances, and what it all means for nurses in Malaysia and those who want to work there.
Imagine you are a staff nurse in a medical ward in Johor Bahru. The ward was designed for eight nurses on the morning shift; most days there are five. Your post-basic allowance is RM100 a month, the same as when your senior colleagues started 17 years ago. Across the causeway, Singapore pays more. One morning you read that Malaysia might bring in thousands of nurses from Indonesia. Is this help, or a sign that nobody is listening to the nurses already here? That question is at the centre of one of Malaysia’s biggest health debates.
How big is Malaysia’s nursing shortage?
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing positions in the Ministry of Health (Sept 2025) | About 84,000 | As reported by the Malaysian Medical Association, April 2026 |
| Unfilled nursing positions | About 14,700 (around 18%) | As above |
| Shortage cited by the Malayan Nurses Union | About 14,000 nurses | The Star, June 2026 |
| Public-sector nurse vacancies in early 2025 | About 8,000 | Galen Centre, February 2025 |
| Post-basic allowance | RM100 a month, unchanged for 17 years | Malaysian Medical Association, April 2026 |
The shortage has grown quickly. New hospitals and clinics have opened, the population is ageing, chronic diseases such as diabetes and kidney failure are rising, and experienced nurses are leaving for Singapore, the Middle East, Australia and the United Kingdom.
The Indonesian nurses proposal
In June 2026, Indonesia’s ambassador to Malaysia said Indonesia produces around 65,000 nurses a year and could supply up to 15,000 nurses to Malaysia. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Malaysia was considering Indonesia’s proposal to expand placements of Indonesian health workers, particularly nurses.
The idea has some logic: Indonesia has a surplus of nursing graduates, the two countries share a closely related language, and Indonesian nurses already work in Japan, the Middle East and elsewhere. But the proposal quickly met resistance from nursing organisations in Malaysia.
What nursing groups in Malaysia are saying
Malaysian Male Nurses Association
The Malaysian Male Nurses Association said it strongly opposed recruiting Indonesian nurses without a comprehensive study first. Its concerns included:
- differences in training standards, academic qualifications and clinical protocols;
- communication with patients in Bahasa Melayu and local dialects;
- locally trained graduates who are still waiting for permanent placements.
It said that if foreign recruitment was necessary, it should be temporary, limited in scale and subject to strict licensing.
Malayan Nurses Union
The Malayan Nurses Union (MNU), led by its president Noor Aini Abu Hashim, called for Malaysians to be given priority for existing vacancies and new positions and urged the government to examine why the country was short of nurses in the first place. Its proposals included:
- staffing new health facilities before they open, to avoid burnout;
- making it easier to enter nurse training, including reviewing the psychometric test for government-sponsored programmes (some applicants have sat it more than five times);
- faster recruitment processes;
- better pay and allowances;
- a structured career pathway and more post-basic training places.
Malaysian Nurses Association
The Malaysian Nurses Association (MNA) is the country’s main professional association for nurses and Malaysia’s member of the International Council of Nurses. It focuses on professional standards, education and nurses’ welfare. In February 2025, the MNA opposed a temporary policy to lower the entry requirement for nursing diplomas from five SPM credits to three for the 2025 and 2026 intakes. Speaking at a health conference in Kuala Lumpur, Prof Mohd Said Nurumal, chairman of the MNA’s IIUM chapter, warned that lower entry standards could produce nurses less prepared for an increasingly complex health system, and that better pay, career pathways and scholarships would attract more nurses than lowering standards. The MNA said it had written to the Ministry of Health several times on the issue.
Malaysian Medical Association
The Malaysian Medical Association, which represents doctors, has also backed nurses. In 2025 it urged the government to improve nurses’ pay and working conditions instead of easing entry requirements, and in April 2026 it called for the post-basic allowance to be raised from RM100 to RM500 a month, with regular reviews.
Why are Malaysian nurses leaving?
- Pay: Malaysian public-sector nurses earn much less than nurses in Singapore, the Gulf or Australia.
- Allowances: the post-basic allowance for specialist training has not changed in 17 years.
- Workload: vacancies mean more patients per nurse, more overtime and more burnout.
- Contract and placement delays: some graduates wait a long time for permanent posts and leave the profession.
- Career progression: limited promotion and post-basic places.
- Safety: nurses have reported aggression from patients and relatives, a problem seen worldwide (see our report on violence against nurses).
Who regulates nursing in Malaysia?
Nursing in Malaysia is regulated by the Nursing Board Malaysia (Lembaga Jururawat Malaysia) under the Nurses Act 1950 and its regulations, with the Nursing Division of the Ministry of Health. Nurses must be registered and hold an Annual Practising Certificate (APC), renewed each year with evidence of continuing professional development. Foreign nurses need a Temporary Practising Certificate (TPC), and the rules on eligibility, quotas and language are strict. Our detailed guide to the Malaysia Nursing Board, TPC and APC covers this step by step.
Any large-scale recruitment of Indonesian nurses would have to fit within these rules, or the rules would need to change. That is why nursing groups insist on licensing, language and clinical standards being protected.
Would foreign recruitment solve the shortage?
Evidence from other countries suggests international recruitment can fill gaps quickly but rarely fixes the underlying problem. The UK, Ireland, the Gulf states and Singapore all rely heavily on international nurses, and all still face shortages because they also lose nurses. Without better retention, new recruits can simply replace those who leave.
A balanced approach usually includes:
- Retention first: pay, allowances, safe staffing and career paths for nurses already in the system.
- Faster placement of local graduates who want to work.
- Training capacity: more places in nursing colleges and post-basic programmes.
- Targeted, temporary, ethical recruitment where gaps cannot be filled in time, with proper licensing, language support and orientation.
- Return programmes to bring back Malaysian nurses working abroad.
For a wider view, read our guide to the global nursing shortage.
What this means for you
If you are a nurse in Malaysia
- Keep your APC and CPD points up to date.
- Consider joining the MNA or the MNU: both are actively lobbying on pay, allowances and staffing.
- If you are thinking of leaving, compare total packages carefully, including housing, tax and career prospects.
If you are an Indonesian or other foreign nurse interested in Malaysia
- Do not pay agents for promises of jobs under the proposal; no large-scale scheme had been confirmed when we last checked.
- Learn about the TPC rules and the Bahasa Melayu requirement.
- Compare Malaysia with other destinations in our guide to nursing in Indonesia and our registration routes guide.
If you want to study nursing in Malaysia
- Check whether your programme is accredited by the Nursing Board Malaysia and the Malaysian Qualifications Agency.
- Look at entry requirements for each intake: they have changed recently and may change again after 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many nurses is Malaysia short of?
About 14,700 nursing positions in the Ministry of Health were unfilled in September 2025, roughly 18% of 84,000 posts.
Is Malaysia recruiting Indonesian nurses?
In June 2026, the government said it was considering Indonesia’s offer of up to 15,000 nurses. Nursing groups opposed recruitment without a full study.
What is the Malaysian Nurses Association?
Malaysia’s main professional association for nurses and its member of the International Council of Nurses.
What is the Malayan Nurses Union?
A trade union representing nurses that negotiates on pay, allowances and working conditions.
What is the post-basic allowance for nurses in Malaysia?
RM100 a month. The Malaysian Medical Association has called for it to be raised to RM500.
But who should fill Malaysia’s empty nursing posts?
Malaysia’s nursing groups agree on one point: the first answer should be the nurses Malaysia already has and the graduates it already trains. Foreign nurses may help in the short term, but only fair pay, safe staffing and real career paths will stop the shortage from returning. How the government responds in the next budgets will show whether nurses’ voices are being heard.
Your next step: If you nurse in Malaysia, find out which association or union represents you and add your voice on pay, allowances and staffing. If you trained abroad, read the Nursing Board’s TPC rules before speaking to any agent.
Related: Malaysia Nursing Board guide · Nursing councils of the world · Global nursing shortage
Sources: The Star (12 and 20 June 2026); Free Malaysia Today (16 April 2026) reporting the Malaysian Medical Association; CodeBlue (27 February 2025); International Council of Nurses member list; Nursing Board Malaysia. Rules change; check official sources.
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