KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — A consultant paediatrician has attributed the severe shortage of housemen to requirements to pass Bahasa Malaysia and History subjects in the Form Five SPM examination.
Dr Tan Eng Guan said many Malaysian doctors trained overseas or through private pathways wish to return and serve, but face the obstacle of SPM Bahasa Malaysia and History prerequisites for entry into the civil service.
“This requirement disproportionately affects students from non-mainstream education pathways, including those from international systems such as IGCSE or IB, or Chinese independent schools,” he said in a statement today.
“These individuals may have spent years rigorously training in medicine, but are now expected to meet examination standards in subjects they did not study in depth during their schooling years.”
He questioned if proficiency in history was directly relevant to clinical competence and in cases of determining matters of life and death.
Dr Tan, who is serving in a private hospital in Penang, pointed out that many of these doctors can already communicate effectively in Bahasa Malaysia.
He further questioned the granting of temporary licenses for foreign doctors without such requirements, while Malaysian doctors face stricter barriers.
“Such policies risk discouraging capable Malaysian doctors from returning home, further worsening the shortage of house officers and doctors in the public sector,” said Dr Tan.
He called for a re-evaluation of the SPM Bahasa Malaysia and History requirements for medical practice in the public sector, besides considering alternative assessments of Bahasa Malaysia proficiency (for example, oral or workplace-based evaluation).
“Allow conditional entry into housemanship with concurrent language training if needed. Ensure fair and consistent policies between local and foreign doctors.”
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told the Dewan Negara recently that only 529 medical graduates reported for duty for 5,000 housemanship training slots offered last January.
Editor’s note: This article was amended after Dr Tan clarified that his statement was issued in his personal capacity, not as incoming president of the Penang Medical Practitioners Society (PMPS).
