KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — A patient advocate has condemned the Malaysian Medical Council’s (MMC) decision to permit doctors to practise medicine without a valid annual practising certificate (APC).
Manvir Victor – chairman of Patients for Patient Safety Malaysia, a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative – described the MMC’s “waiver” to resolve its huge backlog of 2026 APC applications as “very troubling”, as no safeguards were put in place for patients.
“How will patients be able to ascertain which doctors are legally qualified and those who are ‘awaiting’ their APC?” Manvir told CodeBlue in a statement.
“This can leave huge room for abuse and cause untold damage, as well as pain and suffering for patients. MMC has a public responsibility which it seems to have forgotten.”
According to MMC’s website, the motto of the regulator of the medical profession is “safeguarding patients and guiding doctors”. Dr Mahathar Abd Wahab is MMC president and also Health director-general in the Ministry of Health (MOH).
In a January 3 statement, the MMC announced that medical practitioners who complied with requirements and submitted a complete application for their 2026 APC by December 31, 2025, would be permitted to practise medicine pending issuance of their certificate.
However, the MeRITS portal, which the MMC previously told the public to check for registered doctors, only states whether a particular medical practitioner has an APC for the year, not the status of their application.
Section 20(7) of the Medical Act states that a fully registered medical practitioner who practises medicine, surgery, or obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G), and who does not have an APC in force, shall be guilty of an offence under the Act. These doctors are also prohibited from collecting any fee during the time without an APC.
Manvir, who is also president of the International Society of Nephrology Patient Liaison Advisory Group, pointed out that there are already quack doctors peddling so-called therapies on social media.
“Has MMC even considered that their role has just become even more crucial to public health?” he asked. “They seem oblivious to the far-reaching risks of their own organisation.”
“Health care has reached a point where the public need to have a more participatory role in it and not only as recipients.”
The patient advocate urged patients to check their doctor’s APC status, due to legal implications from any adverse health effects from treatment.
“If a complaint is made and is not able to be legally resolved due to the ‘grey’ qualifications, will MMC be able to step in and help the patients make their case?”
Manvir also told clinics and hospitals to take responsibility if they allow unlicensed medical practitioners to practise at their facilities, pointing out that health care facilities may be implicated if patients file complaints.
“In a real-world scenario, the APC qualification, or lack thereof, has many consequences. Who, if any organisation, is able to shed some light on patient care at this point?”
