LETTER | Ministry, MQA should not interfere with MMC's certification powers

LETTER | The ongoing controversy of the recognition of parallel pathway training for cardiothoracic surgeons should not have arisen in the first place.

It has not only adversely affected Malaysia’s medical profession and health system but also exposed the fact that certain quarters of society are trying to put their own political agendas above the country’s quality healthcare at the expense of the public health service and lowering the esteem of our medical profession itself.

Like other professional bodies such as the Malaysian Bar, Malaysian Institute of Accountants and Malaysian Institute of Architects, the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) is well-empowered to recognise any medical degrees and specialist training programmes under the present law - the Medical Act 1971.

The principle of professional independence and self-governance should not be compromised and tampered with by any other non-professional bodies with underlying political agendas.

Any tampering with professional self-governance by the MMC would not only make the standard of our health service go backwards but also make Malaysia less inspiring and appealing for future socio-economic investments and advancements. 

The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) is set up to assess academic educational programmes and it is not within their jurisdiction to get involved in the licensing process of the medical profession, which is within the jurisdiction of the MMC.

The MMC is an independent professional body with more expertise than the MQA to assess the qualification of any trained doctors and specialists.

It is well within the MMC’s jurisdiction, powers and professional capacity to decide on both local and foreign universities’ basic and specialist medical training programmes’ qualifications and licence to practice.

Jeopardising self-governance

The Higher Education Ministry and MQA do not have the powers to do so and neither should they interfere with it. In addition, both the ministry and MQA should never be empowered to do so as this would jeopardise the independence of any professional bodies’ powers for self-governance. 

As in all other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, it is for the independent professional bodies to decide whether a university graduate can be licensed as a professional practitioner after their academic training.

Malaysia has had similar practices that are well recognised by the laws of the country. These principles and practices should not only be upheld firmly but more regulatory powers should be given to these independent professional bodies. 

It is important to note that the MQA is empowered to lay out criteria for accrediting the higher education courses in local universities but local university basic medical graduate or specialist qualifications for licence to practise are subject to the recognition of MMC or any professional bodies created by the law. 

Like any other professions in the country including architects, engineers, accountants and lawyers, they are licensed to practise only after the potential professionals satisfy their respective professional bodies’ specified practical training and assessment examinations, and so should be the same for the medical profession in the future.

The MMC should exercise its powers to decide on the recognition of any basic medical degrees and specialist training pathways and the issuance of their licences to practice.

Nonetheless, MMC should consider setting up the Malaysian Medical Graduate Licensure Examination for all basic medical graduates from both local public and private universities and foreign universities to be assessed equally before they could be qualified as medical doctors with the licence to practise and for further postgraduate training.

The MMC should not cede or even share its professional powers with any other non-medical professional body including the MQA.

Nonetheless, within its powers, it could consult or appoint the Academy of Medicine Malaysia and respective specialist associations to advise on the recognition of their respective specialists and subspecialists.

Rightfully, it is for the MQA to consult MMC on the recognition of respective universities’ basic medical degrees and specialist education training programmes. And there is no necessity for any new law for this aspect. 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.