Since the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) has denied its direct involvement with the Malaysian Medical Council’s (MMC) refusal to recognise the parallel pathway in cardiothoracic surgery, it is clear that the MMC president, who is also the health director-general, should take 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. Two of them have also been handed offers by other countries to serve as cardiothoracic surgeons.
The MMC, which is led by the health director-general, has the jurisdiction to recognise the parallel pathway, not only according to individual qualifications, but also in the interests of public health system.
But apparently, the MMC has failed to comply with the government’s policy in putting public health quality above politics.
There is no need for any amendments to the Medical Act 1971 if the health director-general appreciates his own powers and responsibilities to uphold the quality of public health, instead of bowing down to politics.
His inaction has led to a judicial review being filed against the MMC and government, which might coerce the government and Parliament to amend the Medical Act in order to prevent the precedent of non-compliance with a government policy from happening.
Therefore, the MMC president, who is also the health director-general, should 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 programmes, and to reverse UiTM’s right to run an exclusive parallel pathway programme in cardiothoracic surgery.
The National Heart institute (IJN) cardiothoracic surgery parallel pathway programme should be shared by both overseas and local universities, because the existence of any monopoly is against a sound health policy that puts public health above politics.
Any civil servant, including the health director-general, should adhere to official government policy. He should encourage the coexistence and collaboration of both local Master’s programmes and overseas post-graduate programmes in order to uplift our medical education and postgraduate training to a suitably professional level.
No one is above the law, including civil servants at any level. No one can make his own rules and regulations beyond the mandate of Parliament.
Dr. Boo Cheng Hau is a Johor DAP state committee member.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
