THE DELAY in the issuance of the 2026 Annual Practicing Certificate (APC) by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) early this year had created a significant administrative and legal challenges within the healthcare system.
“It is estimated that over 14,000 doctors were left without a valid APC when 2026 began,” said MBSB Research.
The MMC attributed the delay to a sharp increase in applications and issues with late supporting documents. To note, MMC issued over 74,000 APCs in CY24 (for CY25), making this delay a significant issue.
Recent reports also revealed that about 30% of MMC council members did not have their recent APC updated. As of writing, about 10,000 outstanding APC had been processed.
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) argues that the issue was not only an administrative problem, but also a governance failure.
The scarcity of specialists in Malaysia, particularly in cardiothoracic surgery, is one of the most critical challenges facing the country’s healthcare sector.
“Only 18% of patient needs were met under this category, given limited cardiothoracic surgeons nationwide. This creates another backlog on its own, with nearly 3,000 patients currently on the waiting list for heart surgery in public hospitals,” said MBSB.
Adding the regulatory setbacks, patients would potentially be collateral to the skewed system that should ease the validation of doctors’ licenses, consequently endangering lives and jeopardising quality care, especially in time-sensitive procedures.
To prevent setbacks like the recent APC crisis from impacting operations and specialists in the future, we opine that healthcare service providers can leverage their scale to move from reactive compliance to proactive governance.
“All in all, we believe that resolving the APC issue is the first domino piece that must fall to ensure the sustainability of the healthcare sector, amid the beginning of the Malaysia Year in Medical Tourism (MYMT) 2026,” said MBSB.
The 2026 APC crisis serves as a stark reminder of the friction that can occur when legacy laws meet modern digital systems. While the immediate threat has been neutralized by amnesty, the episode has fundamentally shifted the conversation around medical regulation in Malaysia.
The ultimate resolution of this crisis is not merely about clearing a backlog of certificates; it represents a reset of the relationship between the regulator, the practitioners, and the public-listed healthcare industry. — Focus Malaysia
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