THE Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has called for the reform the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) along with the country’s healthcare system.
MMA president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said while the Medical Act 1971 (Act 50) is amended to recognise Parallel Pathway programmes, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad should also review the Medical Act itself towards meaningful reforms in the country’s healthcare system, starting with reforms to the MMC.
“The MMC president’s position should be decided by election and not through appointment, likewise the composition of the MMC council members which should comprise at least 80% elected representatives,” Dr Azizan said in a statement on Thursday (April 4).
“Furthermore, its voting system, which still uses postal ballots is outdated and should be simplified through digitalisation, in line with the Health Ministry’s (MOH) digital health transformation agenda.
“Currently, the inconvenience to cast a ballot is discouraging the fraternity from voting with only 10% voting from the close to 70,000 registered medical practitioners each time elections are held.”
On Tuesday (April 2) Bernama reported Dr Dzulkefly as saying that his ministry will request that the Cabinet expedite the proposed amendments to the Medical Act 1971 (Act 50) to enable individuals who have successfully completed their training under the Parallel Pathway programme to register as specialists.
According to Dr Dzulkefly, this was to address the shortage of medical specialists serving in public hospitals.
He said that pending the Cabinet’s decision on the act, efforts to bolster specialist training through home-grown master’s programmes will be intensified to augment local capacity-building.
Additionally, he noted that during separate discussions with Irish Ambassador to Malaysia Orla Tunney and Deputy High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Malaysia David Wallace, all parties agreed to fortify the ongoing partnerships between MOH and the involved institutions. – April 4, 2024
Main pic credit: MMA
