PUTRAJAYA, July 28 — Malaysia needs more veterinary specialists, not just more veterinarians, as advances in companion animal medicine and livestock production outpace the country’s specialist training capacity.
While Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) produce about 150 to 200 veterinary graduates each year, most enter practice as general veterinarians.
Prof Dr Mohd Zamri Saad, one of Malaysia’s leading veterinary scientists, said specialist training has not kept pace with advances in companion animal medicine and livestock production, with only about 50 registered veterinary specialists nationwide.
“We keep producing general practitioners in veterinary medicine even though the industry has developed tremendously,” the UPM scientist said at the Global Animal Production and Veterinary Industry Summit (Gavis) 2026 here last Wednesday.
Dr Zamri, a veterinary pathologist, said companion animal practice illustrated how veterinary medicine had evolved beyond general practice.
Veterinary clinics that once focused mainly on vaccinations, antibiotic treatment, and wound care now routinely provide diagnostic imaging, specialised surgery, dermatology, and oncology services as pet ownership rises and owners increasingly seek specialised care for their pets.
“To fulfil this need, veterinary services must transform,” Dr Zamri said. “They must transform to provide more meaningful or specialised veterinary medicine.”
Specialist Training Remains The Missing Link
Malaysia has 4,080 registered veterinary surgeons, but only 2,777, or 68 per cent, currently hold Annual Practising Certificates (APCs), according to 2026 Malaysian Veterinary Council (MVC) data cited by Dr Zamri. The MVC is the statutory regulator of Malaysia’s veterinary profession under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1974.
Of those in active practice, about 60 per cent, or 1,666 veterinarians, work in companion animal practice, while a much smaller share serve the livestock sector.
By comparison, only about 50 veterinary specialists are registered with the Malaysian College of Veterinary Specialists (MCVS), the country’s specialist registration body.
About 40 per cent specialise in companion animal disciplines, while another 20 per cent practise in cross-species specialties, such as veterinary pathology and microbiology, Dr Zamri said.
That translates to roughly one veterinary specialist for every 55 veterinarians in Malaysia, compared with about one for every 30 veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Australia, and one for every nine in the United States.
“If you want to take the benchmark of the UK, for example, we have to at least double our number of specialists,” Dr Zamri said.
About half of Malaysia’s veterinary specialists work in universities, while another 15 per cent are with the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), leaving relatively few specialists available for clinical practice.
Dr Zamri said increasing the number of veterinary graduates alone would not address the shortage of specialists.
Several public and private higher education institutions are seeking to establish veterinary programmes to help address Malaysia’s shortage of animal health professionals. The Star reported last year that UPM, the country’s main public university offering veterinary medicine, admits about 150 students annually, while UMK takes in about 50.
However, unlike newly qualified veterinarians, specialists must complete structured postgraduate clinical training through internships, residency programmes, supervised practice, and competency-based assessments before qualifying in their chosen disciplines.
Dr Zamri said Malaysian veterinary schools should begin establishing structured internship and residency programmes to develop locally trained specialists.
“This specific or specialised veterinary service can be achieved through internship or residency training. So perhaps veterinary schools now have to start thinking about this kind of training for us to start producing locally trained veterinary specialists,” he said.
MCVS Proposes New Local Pathway For Veterinary Specialists
The Malaysian College of Veterinary Specialists (MCVS), which assesses and registers veterinary specialists, is proposing a new training pathway that would allow veterinarians to earn specialist qualifications in Malaysia through a combination of postgraduate study and supervised clinical training.
Dr Mohamad Azmie Zakaria, a veterinarian and former DVS director-general, said the MCVS was exploring a collaborative model with public and private veterinary schools that would enable veterinarians to earn both postgraduate and specialist qualifications.
“There is currently an idea for collaborative specialist training with the public and private veterinary colleges for a dual qualification,” he said at the Malaysian Veterinary Medical Association (MAVMA) Veterinary Education Symposium held during Gavis 2026.
Under the proposed model, veterinarians could continue working in veterinary clinics, hospitals, laboratories, or research institutes while undergoing specialist training, provided they maintain detailed case logs and train under recognised supervisors. Supervisors would not necessarily have to be based at the same institution or even in Malaysia.
Dr Azmie said the proposed pathway would complement the existing system, under which Malaysian veterinarians who complete recognised specialist training overseas may apply for specialist registration with the MCVS.
Under the proposed pathway, candidates would complete supervised postgraduate clinical training before sitting written and oral or practical examinations administered by the MCVS as part of the specialist certification process.
But Dr Azmie said creating new training pathways alone would not be enough unless specialist qualifications receive greater recognition within the public service.
Although the MCVS can assess and register veterinary specialists, specialist qualifications are not formally recognised within the civil service career structure, reducing the incentive for DVS officers to pursue specialist registration, Dr Azmie said.
“I don’t see many veterinary officers from the DVS pursuing specialist registration because their qualifications are not recognised within the civil service structure,” he said.
Dr Azmie also called for amendments to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1974 and related regulations, saying the current legal framework focuses on the registration and practice of veterinarians rather than specialist practice.
While the Act empowers the Malaysian Veterinary Council (MVC) to register additional professional qualifications, it does not establish a dedicated framework for registering or regulating veterinary specialists, he said.
He proposed creating a national register of veterinary specialists under the law and urged the Public Service Department (JPA) to review the civil service career structure to better recognise specialist qualifications.
Dr Azmie argued that recognising specialist qualifications within the public service would encourage more veterinarians to pursue advanced training and ultimately strengthen animal health, public health, and national food security.
The proposal comes as Malaysia also faces a broader veterinary workforce shortage. The DVS estimated in April that the country has about 2,600 active veterinarians, nearly 6,000 short of the estimated 8,500 needed nationwide.
Livestock Sector Struggles To Attract Veterinarians
Dr Zamri said companion animal practice had become the dominant career path for Malaysian veterinarians, while the livestock sector continued to face a chronic shortage of veterinary professionals.
Veterinary services for Malaysia’s ruminant sector, he said, are provided almost entirely by the DVS, with few private veterinarians involved.
Dr Zamri said the imbalance was not unique to Malaysia. “The lack of veterinarians in the ruminant sector is not new. It is a worldwide phenomenon. I have read so many articles saying that it is a problem actually attracting veterinarians to work in the rural sector,” he said.
The UPM expert said companion animal practice was often seen as offering better financial prospects than livestock medicine.
“People were saying the ruminant sector has no money. Pet animals have so much money. Why not go there? Whatever it is, we need to do something so that more veterinarians are being attracted into the ruminant sector,” Dr Zamri said.
He also called for stronger veterinary extension services, including continuous training for DVS officers and closer collaboration between universities and frontline veterinary personnel to transfer knowledge directly to farmers.
“Transformation requires courage, requires budget, and requires time. It is not going to be solved the next day. It takes several years. But it needs to start now,” Dr Zamri said.
