PETALING JAYA: Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has assured specialists from the parallel pathway programme who are facing problems in being listed in the National Specialist Register (NSR) that there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Responding to a question from Senator Dr RA Lingeswaran in the Dewan Negara today, Dzulkefly said his ministry was aware that the Malaysian Medical Council’s (MMC) refusal to recognise qualifications from certain colleges had become a controversial public issue.
He agreed that there appeared to be a contradiction, and as such, he had met the Attorney-General’s Chambers over the matter and would submit a paper to the Cabinet as soon as possible.
“I can assure you that there is a solution in sight, and I am optimistic this problem will be resolved soon,” he said.
“I cannot divulge any details as my proposal will require the Cabinet to discuss it before approval, but there will be a finality to it.
“Most importantly, all graduates from the parallel pathway programme will be given the facilities to complete their training and will be placed in the NSR to enable them to practice.”
Lingeswaran had asked the minister to explain a statement by MMC president Dr Radzi Abu Hassan yesterday that the regulator had never recognised cardiothoracic surgeons graduating from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, which falls under the health ministry’s parallel pathway programme.
The senator said Radzi, who is also the health director-general, was mistaken as MMC’s records showed that the college in the UK was recognised until 2022.
He said it was strange as the ministry had on March 15 sent out a circular asking these specialists to register for the six-month gazettement process before being listed in the NSR.
Lingeswaran said there were currently 88 cardiothoracic surgeons listed in the NSR, with many of them having qualifications from the UK college in question.
“Does this mean the ministry is allowing the specialists from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to violate Section 14 of the Medical Act 1971 with this contradiction?” he asked.
Section 17 of the Act states that evidence of qualification must be given before entry on the register.
Earlier today, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) called on MMC to clarify its recent statement that it did not recognise cardiothoracic surgeons from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
In a statement, MMA president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said data from the NSR’s website previously acknowledged qualifications from the college, but that information seemed to have disappeared.
Azizan also called for more details on a task force Radzi said had been established to solve the issue.
“As this issue is a matter of public interest, we demand full transparency and clarity with regard to the task force’s composition, terms of reference and timeline,” she said. - FMT
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