A former chairperson of the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) board of directors has voiced support for the institution to temporarily open up its cardiothoracic surgery training to non-bumiputera medical officers.
Ibrahim Shah Abu Shah said UiTM is the only university offering a parallel pathway programme in collaboration with the National Heart Institute (IJN) in the field of cardiothoracic surgery.
“So UiTM cannot leave these students in limbo. This is for the nation’s interest as we lack specialist doctors in this field,” he told Malaysiakini yesterday.
“Hence, UiTM should accept them temporarily until UM (Universiti Malaya) opens a similar training programme.”
Ibrahim warned that if UiTM does not change its stance, it could lead to quality issues as the doctors would only have unrecognised foreign certifications.
“This involves public lives, so they (local medical officers) must be properly trained according to the syllabus,” he added.
Previously, he strongly opposed efforts to recognise the parallel pathway programme based on the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (FRCS Ed) syllabus, labelling it as “haram”.
The former UiTM vice-chancellor also claimed the FRCS Ed qualification was “not recognised by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh” itself.
He alleged there were 14 fields offered under the programme to train specialists, but it did not follow the proper education system.
The former Umno supreme council member said the training was conducted by an association not legally registered as a higher education provider.
“Edinburgh also does not recognise them. The Higher Education Ministry, Malaysian Medical Council (MMC), and Malaysian Qualifications Agency also do not recognise them,” he said.
Student protest
On May 15, UiTM’s student council called for students to wear black to protest against opening the university to non-bumiputera students.
They also asked students to upload photos with the #MahasiswaUiTMBantah hashtag in support of the campaign.
The protest arose over a proposal for UiTM to open its doors for non-bumiputera medical officers to undergo specialist heart surgery training through the parallel pathway programme.
READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | Parallel pathway - what is it and why is it an issue?
The move was planned as a temporary measure until a similar programme is offered at UM.
Only seven non-bumiputera medical officers have been proposed to pursue further studies in cardiothoracic surgery at UiTM.
‘Non-bumi have not fully integrated’
When contacted by Malaysiakini yesterday, Ibrahim however stressed that UiTM’s openness to non-bumiputera medical officers must only be temporary.
He also considered the anger or unhappiness of some Malays on the issue to be justified.
This was because, he said, Malays now feel pressured to give up their rights while non-bumiputera have still not fully integrated into the country.
“The non-bumiputera tell all communities (including Malays) to move forward while they still want vernacular schools maintained.
“They are not fluent in Malay despite living here for decades, refusing to mix with Malays...
“We (Malays) are not racist, but they are the racist ones,” he added.
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