Dr Boo Cheng Hau has responded to the clarification by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) over the parallel pathway programme by calling out the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) and asking its head to step down.
This follows the clarification by MQA CEO Mohammad Shatar Sabran that his organisation is not directly involved in the registration crisis for medical doctors who obtain specialist qualifications through specialist degree training programmes or parallel pathways.
“Since MQA has denied its ‘direct involvement’ with the MMC’s refusal to recognise the parallel pathway in cardiothoracic surgery, it is clear that the MMC chief, who is also the health director-general, should take on full responsibility.
“The MMC’s refusal to admit the four cardiothoracic surgeons to be registered as specialists in the country has led to a judicial review sought by the four surgeons concerned and two of them were already offered by other countries to serve as cardiothoracic surgeons.
“Even though MMC, which is led by the health director-general, has the jurisdiction to recognise the parallel pathway not only according to their qualifications but also in the best interest of the public health system to serve the people,” Boo said in a statement today.
The MMC led by the current president and health director-general has failed to comply with the government’s health policy of putting public health quality above politics, he added.
He said there was no need for any amendments to the Medical Act 1971 if the health director-general appreciated his own powers and responsibilities to uphold the quality of the public health service.
“His inaction has led to a judicial review being filed against the MMC and government to coerce the government and Parliament to amend the Medical Act in order to prevent such a precedent of non-compliance with a good government policy from happening again.
“Therefore, the MMC president cum health director-general should be advised to resign over his failure to uphold the law, to upgrade the standard of public health care, to ensure coexistence and collaboration between the parallel pathway and local master’s degree programme in training medical specialists of all fields, and failure to reverse the exclusive parallel pathway in cardiothoracic surgery right to a single university-that is UiTM,” Boo added.
Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan is both health director-general and president of the MMC, while Boo is a practising physician who served two terms as Skudai assemblyperson from 2008 to 2018.
Boo said that accreditation for the parallel pathway programmes should be shared by both overseas and local universities.
“The IJN-Cardiothoracic surgery parallel pathway should be shared by both overseas and local universities because any cartel on the matter is against a good health policy which puts the quality of public health service above politics.
“Any civil servant including the health director-general cum MMC president should toe any present government’s policy line.
“He should encourage the coexistence and collaboration of both local universities’ master's programmes and overseas post-graduate degrees to uplift our medical education and training to the level of advanced countries’,” he added.
Boo said no one is above the law including civil servants at all levels, ministers and ordinary citizens.
“No one can make his own rules and regulations above the mandate of Parliament by legislation. Failing which, he should be advised to resign gracefully,” he said.
This comes after Shatar clarified that the jurisdiction to accept or reject the registration and certification of medical practitioners is subject to the MMC including medical specialities, such as cardiothoracic surgery.
He said that accreditation and recognition of medical institutions in the country was carried out jointly between MQA and MMC, therefore the issues that arose recently did not involve MQA directly.
“MQA only acts as a facilitator to help resolve related issues based on existing jurisdiction and regulations at this agency,” he said.
He said this when commenting on the parallel pathway issue.
Chronology of events
The matter arose when MMC rejected the application of four cardiothoracic surgeons to be listed in the National Specialist Register because the Fellowship of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in Cardiothoracic Surgery (FRCS Ed) qualification they obtained was not recognised following the enforcement of the amendment to the Medical Act 1971 from 2017.
The government recently announced that the parallel pathway issue will be resolved promptly and that a proposed solution framework has been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for evaluation.
Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir stated that discussions with the Health Ministry were held last month to find a solution regarding legal aspects, in addition to issues related to the recognition of medical programmes offered in universities.
“The government is examining comprehensive solutions that also involve legal aspects such as the need for any amendments to the Medical Act.
“Additionally, there are matters related to the recognition of medical programmes offered at universities,” he said. - Mkini
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