KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Major Malaysian hospitals have permitted their medical practitioners to practise pending approval of their 2026 annual practising certificate (APC), as the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) moves to clear a backlog that spilled into the new year.
Private hospital group IHH Healthcare Malaysia said about 4 per cent of doctors across its 18 hospitals are currently affected by delayed APC issuance, but are allowed to continue practising under interim measures.
“Our priority is continuity of safe patient care while maintaining appropriate credentialing controls,” IHH Healthcare Malaysia CEO Dr Kamal Amzan told CodeBlue in a written response today.
“As an interim measure, doctors may continue practising provided they can produce documented proof of MMC submission supported by adequate CPD points, and our hospitals maintain records, conduct follow-up checks, and escalate exceptions for review.”
Dr Kamal added that IHH has continued engaging regulators to manage the delay, noting that APC backlogs have occurred in previous cycles.
“While APC issuance delays have occurred in previous cycles, our focus remains on ensuring operations and administrative coordination continue smoothly, with regular follow-ups to MMC on pending statuses and ongoing efforts to seek clarity on interim expectations,” he said.
IHH Healthcare Malaysia has also reminded its hospitals to ensure financial processes remain compliant during the interim period.
“We have also reiterated to our hospitals the importance of ensuring billing and related processes remain compliant with applicable requirements during this period, with a consistent approach applied across facilities,” Dr Kamal said.
The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) previously warned that a prolonged APC delay could cause issues with guarantee letters (GLs) by health insurers due to compliance concerns.
Section 20(7) of the Medical Act 1971 doesn’t only prohibit medical practitioners from practising medicine, surgery, or obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) without a valid APC, but also expressly prohibits such doctors from recovering any fee or cost incurred during the time without the certificate.
IHH Healthcare Malaysia has more than 1,500 specialists across over 23 specialties and 40 subspecialties and operates major private hospitals including Gleneagles Hospitals, Pantai Hospitals, and Prince Court Medical Centre.
Separately, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) said all practitioners who submitted their APC renewal applications by the December 31, 2025, deadline are authorised to continue clinical duties, citing MMC’s position that APC status for timely applicants is effective from January 1, 2026.
“In line with official guidance, all UMMC practitioners who submitted their renewal applications by December 31, 2025, are authorised to continue their clinical duties as usual,” UMMC said in a statement to CodeBlue today.
“Since the MMC has confirmed that the APC status for these timely applicants is effective from January 1, 2026, all hospital operations including billing, drug procurement, and indemnity arrangements remain legally sound and operational.”
UMMC said it is managing the administrative delay “in full alignment with the directives set by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the MMC”, and described the APC issue as a temporary national-level matter.
The teaching hospital added that it has issued internal guidance to ensure continuity of services and supervision by “verified, qualified professionals”.
The hospital statements come as MMC said it has technically completed reviews of all outstanding APC applications.
According to MMC, 13,603 applications were pending as at December 31, 2025, after 70,274 APC approvals were granted during the year.
In a statement today, MMC said it has cleared most of the backlog of 2026 APC applications following year-end delays, approving 10,088 of the 13,603 pending applications as of 8am on January 8, 2026.
MMC said it has “technically completed” reviews of all outstanding 3,515 cases, with the remaining applications referred back to doctors for information updates or to resolve queries.
Practitioners have been advised to regularly check the MeRITS system and respond promptly to avoid further delays, while MMC said internal improvements are being implemented to prevent similar backlogs in future.
Asia OneHealthcare, KPJ Healthcare, and Sunway Medical Centre declined to comment when contacted by CodeBlue.
