Liow to explain CMSU de-recognition to graduates

Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai says the de-recognition of the Ukraine medical university was made by MMC, and he only accepted the decision.

KAJANG: Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai has dismissed allegations that the decision to de-recognise Ukraine’s Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) is racially and politically-motivated.

Responding to FMT’s report that a group of CSMU graduates mainly of Indian origin would campaign against him during the general election, Liow said he would meet them to discuss the matter.

“We will explain to them how the decision was made, and I think as professionals, they will understand. Furthermore, this is MMC’s decision, not the ministry’s. I only accepted their proposal.

“The decision was made by a group of doctors (in the MMC), it is neither racial nor political,” he told a press conference here today.

The health minister announced the withdrawal of recognition on Thursday, thus forcing the graduates to sit for an extra qualifying test with MMC should they intend to practice in the country.

PKR said the de-recognition was also an act of double standard because local Lincoln Medical College (LMC) was recently allowed to conduct offshore programmes with three other Ukrainian universities.

A group of disgruntled graduate doctors have since vowed to campaign against Liow at his Bentong parliamentary constituency.

Liow said today that CSMU was already de-recognised in 2005 but the MMC made leeway for the last batch of students who enrolled in December 2005 to complete their studies, which took six years.

“Following the completion of their studies, MMC sent another team to inspect the university, and they have endorsed whatever found in the earlier findings in 2005,” he said.

He said the de-recognition was to ensure the highest standard of medical practice in the country.

On another matter, Liow, who is the MCA deputy president, was non-committal when asked to comment on MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek’s statement that the latter would resign should Pandan MP Ong Tee Keat be allowed to defend his seat.

“Whatever his comment is, we will settle the matter through internal channels,” he said.

Asked to comment on criticism that NGO Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack was selective in his environmental cause, Liow said he concurred with the views.

“Now he said should Pakatan Rakyat win power and (rare earth refiner) Lynas survives all the public hearings, it would be allowed to continue in operation. But this is exactly what the current government has done,” he said.

Wong is expected to stand against Liow in Bentong in the coming polls.