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Call on Health Minister Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek to present a Ministerial statement in Parliament to give a full and satisfactory account of the background, history, process and reasons for the MMC derecognition of the CSMU medical degrees and why no grace period was given to CSMU just as University of Malaya was given five years notice before the derecognition of its medical degress by UK General Medical Council in the early eighties Speech - at the Parliamentary Roundtable (4) on “The Crimea State Medical University (CMSU) medical degrees controversy” held in Parliament, Committee Room One by Lim Kit Siang (Parliament, Sunday): The Health Minister Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek should present a Ministerial statement in Parliament to give a full and satisfactory account of the background, history, process and reasons for the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC)’s derecognition of the Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) medical degrees and why no grace period was given to CSMU just as University of Malaya was given five years notice before the derecognition of its medical degrees by the United Kingdom General Medical Council in the early eighties. It is most regrettable that the Deputy Health Minister, Datuk Dr. Abdul Latiff Ahmad did not give a serious, responsible and professional reply during the debate on my emergency motion in Parliament on Tuesday on the sudden and high-handed MMC derecognition of the CSMU medical degrees four years after according recognition, and instead “played to the gallery” resulting in the fracas with the Deputy Health Minister, Datuk S. Sothinathan, resulting in two collateral events:
Will there be anyone, whether Minister, Deputy Minister, Parliamentary Secretary or MP, in the Barisan Nasional, whether MIC, UMNO, MCA, Gerakan or any other BN component party, who would have the sense of justice to support the motion to refer the two Deputy Ministers to the Committee of Privileges to establish which Deputy Minister had told falsehoods to Parliament, or does the principle of collective Ministerial responsibility include blind obedience and compliance with falsehoods and untruths by front-benchers in Parliament? The issue of the MMC derecognition of CSMU medical degrees is not a racial issue, but about the training of qualified doctors, justice to Malaysian students pursuing medical studies in CSMU and overseas, and the accountability and transparency of the MMC. I fully agree with Dr. K. Inbasegaran who wrote in the Malaysiakini on Thursday, and I quote: “Many of my senior colleagues have expressed great concern with the deteriorating quality of candidates who are selected to do medicine at universities both locally as well as abroad. The list of worries is almost endless
The quality of Malaysian doctors, trained locally and overseas, has been a very long-standing concern in our country, and I had often raised in Parliament since the seventies, and since the eighties, this issue has been highlighted in Parliament by the DAP MP for Kepong, Dr. Tan Seng Giaw. But there is also the issue of justice to the Malaysian students enrolled or intending to enroll for medical studies particularly abroad in view of the limited and unfair allocation of medical places in local public universities, as well as the accountability and transparency of the MMC in recognizing or derecognizing medical qualifications. The MMC secretary Dr. Wan Mazlan Mohamed Woojdy said on Friday that CSMU could appeal against the derecognition and re-apply once it has satisfied the MMC criteria. (Malaysiakini) Wan Mazlan seems to rather confused, regarding the appeal against the MMC derecognition and re-application as part of one process, when they are two separate things altogether. As Wan Mazlan referred to two visits by a government technical panel in 2001 and 2003 to CSMU, is he suggesting that as far back as 2001, the MMU was already contemplating the derecognition of the CSMU medical degrees? If so, this will be most extraordinary, as it was only in 2001 that the MMC accorded recognition to the CSMU medical degrees. Or did the MMC take the decision to start derecognizing the CSMU medical degrees immediately after it announced recognition for the CSMU degrees four years ago? MMC should clear this extraordinary confusion to protect its good name and reputation.. The most important point, however, is why the MMC had never given notice to CSMU that government recognition of its medical degrees was under peril as it was being reviewed and that it could be withdrawn unless it complies with the MMC criteria and requirements. It does not reflect well on the professionalism, accountability, transparency and sense of justice of the MMC and the Malaysian government to spring such a surprise on the CSMU, the thousands of Malaysian students presently studying in CSMU and intending to pursue studies there, the parents and the country with such a sudden withdrawal of recognition of the CSMU medical degrees, which came like a “bolt out of the blue” for all concerned. It is also a major blow to Malaysia’s international reputation for reliability and predictability, two essential ingredients determining a country’s international competitiveness, as it creates an international wariness about the integrity and justice of the Malaysian government decision-making process. MMC has announced that it recognizes 344 medical institutions worldwide. I checked the MMC website and found that among the 344 medical institutions recognized include four from Bangladesh, six from Myanmar, seven from Egypt, 11 from Indonesia, 11 from Pakistan, three from Saudi Arabia and two from Jordan. Is MMC seriously suggesting that CSMU, which is the second highest-ranking of the 27 medical universities in Ukraine, which had always been held in high esteem for its science and technological attainments in the Middle East, is worse off than these recognized medical institutions in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan? (26/06/2005)
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