MCA to blame for marginalisation of foreign Malaysian specialists

Letters
by LTT

I refer to Dr. LMK’S letter “Eye specialist problem – another multiracial problem”, and sympathize with this ophthalmologist who wants to come home but is prevented as a result of bureaucracy pertaining to his postgraduate qualifications.

Some have commented that Dr. LMK should just go on to another country where his skills will be better appreciated, but this would be in essence giving in to racist policies that have now slithered into our professions. It would also mean that the change that all those Malaysians were yearning for when they took to the streets and turned up in massive numbers at all those ceramahs leading to the ruling party losing in five states and at the same time almost politically annihilating the previous government would have been for nothing. Further, all the efforts and sacrifices the DAP/PKR/PAS have made to seek a just Malaysia that practices equitable policies may come to naught. Malaysians must stand their ground and must unearth or hunt down the zealots and charlatans who prey on this country’s masses and in this case its medical institutions.

Dr. LMK should be commended that he wants to return home to make this country a better Malaysia. All right thinking Malaysians who have helped transform the political landscape should help him and other Malaysian doctors who plan to come home, by ensuring that the doctors who have hijacked this country’s healthcare system are flushed out once and for all. Dr. LMK should rest assured that there is nothing wrong with his Fellowship qualifications. The problems are all here with the so called “Master’s programs” and the muddled policies at the Academy of Medicine and the Ministry of Health which have been put in place by self-serving specialists who suffer a serious dose of inferiority complex.

As pointed out by a blogger, recently, specialists produced by our NEP factories at UKM, USM and UM are now policy makers for various specialties including ophthalmology. These specialists, in cahoots with the ones running the programs at the universities and at the Ministry of Health, have today proclaimed that overseas postgraduate qualifications are now inferior to the local postgraduate degrees that were handed to them on a golden platter rather then actually earned. Anyone who has been an examiner at these “Masters Program” examinations will attest to the fact that the standard of English of these “Masters Specialist graduates” not only borders on the atrocious, but the aptitude of the candidates is equally petrifying. Examiners however are instructed in no uncertain terms that the passing numbers must be closer to 100% rather then the 20 to 30% practiced by the royal colleges. If any of these “Masters” candidates “fail”, lo and behold , the concerned examiner will be called up for an explanation and if he is a foreign examiner, well, it may be his last paid holiday to Malaysia.

You may ask, “How do these pseudo rule makers thrive in the system?” An ignorant Health Minister helps, but it is usually all done under the guise of “standards” but in reality of course, it is systematic marginalization of any doctor seen as a threat to the positions of “specialists” who are entrenched in the system and have no where else to go as a result of their poor training and unrecognized local qualifications. If that particular hospital or university has a private wing, then prospective specialists or consultants are not encouraged to join for fear they will jeopardize the private wing cake.

Of course, in the case of USM/UKM/UPM only a Malay will do. Second choice will be an Indian/Pakistan/Middle Eastern specialist who will be put on a tight contractual leash. An expatriate who does not play ball by respecting Ketuanan Melayu or fails to give his boss good annual appraisals, will have to “balik negeri”. The usual entry made in the report is either he has poor communicative skills, late for work, patients are all dying under his knife or too many student complaints. If everything else fails, then the very last choice would be a non-Malay Malaysian, even if this Malaysian has all the training and qualifications from the Royal Colleges in the UK/Australia or the American Boards.

HOW DOES THE SYSTEM WORK?

1. Candidates are chosen according to the quota system to undergo “specialist training” at the various universities.

2. Some universities such as USM and UKM are popular because “passing” is assured by the same techniques made available during SPM/ PMR exams where examination questions are made available to candidates prior to actual examinations through various “tutorials”.

3. Universities generally market themselves for as many candidates as possible, both local and foreign from as far away as Mauritius and Ghana, because they need the labour, the cheap labour that is. Universities generally have problems recruiting medical officers to run their hospitals and the ego trip between the MOH and Universities is so bad that the former has stopped “seconding” medical officers to University Hospitals ages ago citing “shortage of staff. So candidates are usually working……“sambil belajar”.

4. Lop sided churning out of 100% passes at USM and UKM were getting so obvious that “Conjoint Boards” between the three universities had to be set-up to reduce bias. However this has not gone down well with certain universities who claim, “Chinese examiner fails Malay candidate. Therefore Malay candidate must be examined only by Malay examiner with “friendly” external examiner from India. Otherwise, Malay examiner will start failing Chinese candidate”. This nonsense has gotten so bad that candidates who wise up usually will spend a little more and sit for the postgraduate examinations held by the Royal Colleges simultaneously.

5. Candidates who pass and are posted to various hospitals eventually climb up the ladder and some day become heads of departments or lecturers and eventually policy makers. They make certain they are surrounded by fellow Masters graduates or Indian expatriates so that deficiencies on their part are not questioned. So mediocrity, like money politics, becomes entrenched.

6. Of course, there are candidates who, given the opportunity, quit these programs and train under Australian, British or American programs. But opportunities are scarce and returning home will be difficult unless they opt out for the private sector which primarily recognizes only foreign postgraduate qualifications from the Royal Colleges or the US Boards.

WHO PERPETUATES THE SYSTEM?

The MCA. These guys have been running this ministry for almost 40 years and still remain clueless. Perhaps that’s another reason why the MOH is in trouble. The rot as usual starts right at the top. The Health Minister, who usually is a technically ignorant lackey of the MCA (the latest addition being a MCA youth leader who, God forbid, has vowed to consult the previous Chua Soi Lek in bettering the MOH), will have as usual no inkling what the hell is going on. By the time he generally learns how to spell some of the terminology; it is time for the next election.

Most times he will depend on his “advisors” which primarily include the DG of Health and a Division called Amalan Perubatan and the Malaysian Medical Council. He is usually oblivious to the fact that 60% or more of all doctors in the country are in the private sector and he is being fed only half the story. Of course, as in the instance of the previous Minister who was very busy taking on private clinics and visiting every health facility and one particular hotel in this country, the minister, soon realizes that it would be wise to leave these technically challenging headaches to the DG who effectively becomes the de facto Minister in these matters.

WHO ARE THE REAL CULPRITS?

Perhaps a brief look into the medical hegemony of policy makers at the MOH who claim to know better may help untangle this quandary.

1. The Academy of Medicine, Jalan Folly Barat, Kuala Lumpur

The Academy consists of the various specialty colleges, subcommittees and its own court of examiners. Some have sterling qualifications. Some sadly do not. Many are from the private sector. The Academy, besides its educational programs, is basically trying to establish and upkeep a specialist register, the criteria of which not all doctors are agreeable to. The Academy’s unseen aspirations in having the register, apart from letting the public know who actually are specialists, appears to be money.

The Academy collects hefty fees from specialists who want their names to be in the register. Perhaps the money is required badly for it’s building fund. The Academy, otherwise plays a benign role in the career of a specialist and questions still linger as to why they are trying to usurp the task of certification that has already been handled by the Royal Colleges and Universities. Some have put this down to outright politics although the Academy does not have legislative powers. In which case, prospective employers should just ignore their eccentrics.

There are, of course, runaway elements in the Academy who have a chip on their shoulder and think they are God’s gift to humanity and medicine. But these charlatans can easily be exposed as most doctors know who they are. With our courts hopefully liberated, some of these demigods ought to be sued for malafide and misuse of authority.

2. Malaysian Medical Council, Block E1, Putrajaya

The obstacles are here. There are four components to this council:

? The DG of Health, who wears his second hat here as Chairman of the council despite the MMC supposedly being an independent body, much like the Bar Council

? The MMC Secretary, who is a seconded officer of the Ministry of Health, obviously adding bias to a supposedly independent body.

? The MMC Secretariat who comprise almost all seconded staff from the Ministry of Health, again adding further bias to this supposedly independent body.

? And 21 council members, of whom only eleven are elected despite the majority of all doctors being from the private sector. The rest comprise of deans of the respective medical schools and more health ministry appointees.

As was demonstrated in the previous cabinet where the MCA Minister watched while his MIC colleague, Sothinathan, got chopped up trying to defend students who were caught in the CSMU crossfire, the MMC currently is a patsy for Ketuanan Melayu which the MCA and Chua Soi Lek knew but did nothing about. The MCA’s frying at the recent elections is no accident and truly well deserved. Those in the driving seat at the MMC are Ismail Merican and Wan Mazlan Bin Md. Woojdy.

3. Bahagian Amalan Perubatan, Block E1, Putrajaya
This particular division generally will claim that it is a screening division for all medical and postgraduate degrees before employment to the Ministry of Health. Of course, like the MMC, it is also a front for Ketuanan Melayu. Which is why CSMU, MRCP and LMK are stuck. This unit is hopelessly politicized and to even think that this Ministry is under the MCA is beyond belief. Until two years ago it came under a level headed chap called Datuk Abdul Gani who was no push-over and was well versed with the connivery of specialists and professional boards who were always willing to throw a spanner in the career of another specialist. Yes, professional jealousy in the Ministry is a rising problem and Ghani used to have his hands full.

The problems worsened and magnified when Merican came into the picture and Ghani retired. He was replaced by Noorimi Morad who was helped by the infamous Khairy Yaakub of the PHFSA and Basmullah Yusom disaster. These were the faces of Ketuanan Melayu. She has since been replaced, ominously by Noor Hisham Abdullah, a locally trained endocrine surgeon, who could further spell disaster for doctors like LMK. The position of Deputy DG (Medical) if held by clinicians have generally proved catastrophic for the Ministry. The rest of this department is staffed by retired matrons who have no business being there and junior doctors from local and Indonesian universities who prefer a 9 to 5 job in Putrajaya instead of the grueling clinical work out on the wards or in the A&E Department in Tawau.

WHAT CAN THE MCA DO?

They should first call up their erstwhile DG, Ismail Merican and ask him to explain all this nonsense. They should query, how is it that the country needs so many eye specialists but established qualifications such as the one from Glasgow are not recognized while an Indian expatriate with an MD ophthalmology gets to run a whole department in their hospitals.. Merican should be further asked to toe the line and clean up the mess that has partly brought the BN to ruin or the MCA should just request from Sidek another DG. If the MCA cannot sort out this problem, it would be confirmatory evidence of their lame duck status in Badawi’s government. It would further mean that the only way to solve the headaches at this Ministry would be to vote in a new government.

WHAT SHOULD THE OPPOSITION DO?

1. It is high time the opposition placed an astute shadow health minister/committee as its watchdog who is technically competent. The MOH generally gets away with whatever it wants including the notorious PHFSA, etc because of the technical ignorance of both its MCA Minister and the Opposition.

2. In parliament, Merican or his Minister should be called up to explain why the discrepancies in the various postgraduate qualifications including why the PHFSA amendments have yet to be ratified and the continuance of Basmullah’s incarceration.

3. Merican and the new Health Minister should be further queried why an independent body such as the MMC is being chaired by the DG when it should be held by someone completely independent of government.

4. Merican and Noor Hisham must be asked why are there multiple deeming authorities such as Universities, Royal Colleges, Academy of Medicine, MMC, JPA and Amalan Perubatan for our medical degrees.

5. And of course, Merican must answer why doctors like LMK who choose to come home cannot be accommodated but are marginalized.

6. He should be further admonished for repeatedly using patient care and standards as his favourite bogeyman to cow his ignorant Minister into passing idiotic legislations.

Dr. LMK’s problem is minor. Outright non-recognition of such a prestigious degree is nothing but sour grapes on the part of the MOH and Academy. Dr. LMK may require some exposure at the local level if he has not completed his CCST which is not applicable to local circumstances. This can easily be sorted out by him working as a Junior Consultant under someone senior. During this time his services will benefit this nation greatly and in time his presence will not only help patients but future doctors as well.

Perhaps it is Nik Aziz who said it best when he was told by party officials that PAS repeatedly lost in elections because the BN cheated. His answer was plain. “They cheat and win only because you let them” Which is why PAS is very meticulous with every elective procedure wherever they choose to contest especially when it comes to phantom voters and Borang 14.

Cases such as Dr. LMK’s plight will stop arising if the opposition knows the regulations and pins the right questions in parliament. With its new found electoral strength and mandate, it is the hope of many Malaysians that the DAP/PKR/PAS will usher in long awaited reforms that have hindered this country from achieving its true potential.

66 Replies to “MCA to blame for marginalisation of foreign Malaysian specialists”

  1. Why Malaysia?
    If I’m in DR LMK’s shoes, I would rather get a PR in that country and stay there for good.
    Being a second citizen there is much better than losing our rights here.
    Many are craving for it but did’nt have a chance to.
    There’s no guarantee for his future here ,except if his intention is to be a Minister of MCA one day.
    Our future at risk now due to the selfishness of certain leaders and we don’t even know what will happen to our children’s future too.
    In Malaysia, there’s no guarantee!!!

  2. It is very brave for LTT to cry out all these problems. Memang berani ni …

    LTT said, ” … Outright non-recognition of such a prestigious degree is nothing but sour grapes on the part of the MOH and Academy. Dr. LMK may require some exposure at the local level if he has not completed his CCST which is not applicable to local circumstances. This can easily be sorted out by him working as a Junior Consultant under someone senior …”.

    Dr. LMK may face another danger. Those people in Academy of Medicine or Amalan Perubatan may “re-cognise” FRCS by imposing a long long period of gazzettement (2 years or 3 years).

    As far as I know, expatriates with unrecognised master degree only do six months of gazzettement.

    When I was in KKM, when a Malaysian going through a “gazzettement” period, they have to work as a medical officer, doing medical officer oncall … whereas … when an expatriate going through a “gazzettement” period, they work as a specialist with another specialist coaching them during the oncall session, clinic and OT .. They happened in many many other subspecialties, macam ni perubatan, pembedahan, Oftalmologi, ORL and so on ..

    Therefore, please be aware that KKM may recognise FRCS with “terms and conditions applied”**.

    Opinions given by Dr Hanna, Geoffrey and others in Dr. LMK’s blog should also be considered because they are geniusly precious.

  3. The whole system is corrupted from the selection of students into medical course to the production of specialists. Very ethnic orientated. Priority given to bumis. Non malays are often left out. This is the cause of all problems.

  4. (can’t help to nod head). This is a very true, yet sad fact of Malaysia. Other than specialists in medical area, there are many Malaysians like Dr. LMK in non-medical industry wants to come ‘home’ yet it’s prohibited by various visible or invisible boundaries (speaking of myself).

    Yet, what’s ‘home’? We, Malaysian Chinese (as well as Indians) are asked to ‘go back to their home land’.

    Tell me, where is my HOME?

  5. LTT is very truthful .. but I must rectify one thing.

    Derecognizing UK degree does not only affect chinese, it also affect overseas trainned Malays and Indian.

    I was given a chance by JPA to do my medical degree in UK, many of us are holding UK postgraduate degree now – some of us are holding FRCS (Glasgow) as well.

    Thousands of us are stuck in British Isles .. it is not funny to celebrate Hari Raya there … my kampung is full of guest and only a few gangs gathering here ..

    Government has given us the money to go overseas but shutted our door to come home. Please do not blame us if we do not return.

  6. Very true by LTT. The various medical “authorities” in M’sia are a very closely guarded gang. If you’re not part of the gang, sorry you’re out. It doesn’t matter what qualifications you hold. And sad to say the “gang” comprises of people with huge egos. You can have egoistic Matrons and Sisters controlling the future of doctors in Malaysia. You gotta kiss a loss of asses in M’sia if you hope to go far.

  7. This is but of the numerous discriminatory policies in place for the past 50 years, especially during the rein of Dr Mahathir.
    DAP had been fighting for social justice ever since its inception. Along the way suffering the ups and downs of the political situation. God willing, the party had stood the ground and persisted. Its current success is but an affirmation of its righteous and just political platform.
    I hope that even it does not form a government, it should continue to pursue its social justice platform

  8. NotProudToBeMalaysian,

    Why Malaysia? Well, why not? It’s his country.

    In your case, since you are not proud to be a Malaysian, what are you doing here commenting on largely a Malaysia issue? Do go away if you are not proud. Thank-you.

    jetaime.f,

    How effective? Well, I do know that if noone asks any questions in Parliament, then, ZERO effectiveness. If Opposition remains silent in Parliament and not ask questions, they might as well go away. No. A silent Opposition is just equal to NO Opposition, and that is totally unacceptable. I didn’t vote the Opposition just so that they can be silent in Parliament! Yes, there are goons and idiots in the BN camps, but that is no excuse to remain silent when they propose things that do not benefit the Rakyat.

    Bottom line is Don’t give up! Stand up for your rights as Malaysians! If you want to give up, then, migrate and stop being a Malaysian! We Malaysians don’t want Malaysians who has given up and still live in Malaysia like a zombie!

    Old Observer.

  9. The problem is the Msian cabinet is made up of politicians and not professionals in their various capacities. They do not actually know what is happening in the ministries and the needs and problems of the staff.

    MOH is not just under a moron but a great ball licker. I know he licks the balls of Lim Ah Lek and CKC. That’s how he can be in the cabinet. Not through merit but by political connections. He said he would have so much to learn.

    MOE has its very own keris kisser. Does he know how to teach? Does he care if the teachers are overworked? Does he know that most of the patients in IJN are teachers? Or many cancer patients are also teachers?

    That’s why BN is no more relevant. At least to me they aren’t.

  10. Can’t speak for everyone but I believe there are many out there (in Malaysia and living overseas) who has not given up as one can see from the votes and the blogs.

    It does not mean that people who has left the country or migrated overseas has stopped being Malaysians. Each individual left for their own reasons. Your comment has insulted a lot of Malaysians living overseas.

    The effectiveness of Parliament sessions can only be realized when control is exercised and when the other party is ready and willing to listen and serious on turning the nation around. Without control and cooperation, how effective will a session be? It does not mean it is a waste of time for the coalition (DAP+PKR+PAS) to be in Parliament and opt for silence. Instead, would it not be better to come up with solutions and ways so that they can be heard and to be able to deliver their message more effectively. Perhaps, replacing the mediator with a more vocal one is one way.

    Have a good evening.

  11. This is an eye opening article by LTT. Thanks to Kit for posting it for us here.

    I should think the opposition must set up a shadow cabinet to keep an eye on the federal government. I am aware that this is easier said than done but what other alternatives do we have?

    Let us look forward to the next general election and change the federal government if nonsense such as these continue.

    Makkal Sakthi!

  12. True, very true to a great extent.

    DAP/PKR/PAS politicians need to understand how the discriminative system works before bringing any hot air into Parliament.

    Still, knowledge and understanding cannot reason with gangsterism and violence in Parliament.

    So at the end of the day, only a whole change of federal government will rectify the whole ailing situation.

  13. The medical fraternity is just the tip of the iceberg which shows how racial policies have held the country back while benefiting a few of the elite. I’m sure there are many other fields where such racially inspired policies are the order of the day. Little wonder that our best and brightest go off to seek career fulfilment in other lands leaving behind the deadwood and the mediocre who would not stand a chance in the competitive arena of globalization. Meanwhile the country as a whole stagnates. Just 40 years ago, we were on equal footing with Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea but they are now miles ahead of us in standard of living and per capita income. We will soon be proudly comparing ourselves with countries like Myanmar and Zimbabwe.

    To be sure, Umno is the cause of our stagnation with the harmful and self-serving “Ketuanan Melayu” as their core philosophy. This dangerous concept is used to divide and rule the country since Merdeka and is the primary cause of Malaysia losing its competitiveness. The same chicanery is used by the ruling party to accumulate personal wealth at the expense of the rakyat and even their own race.

    Fortunately, with the just concluded elections, a wedge has been driven into the stranglehold this corrupt party holds on the nation. Hopefully, the winds of change will continue to fan the people’s distaste for ugly racial politics which has kept them in power for so long. The sooner that this Malay supremacist party is consigned to the dustbins of history, the better for the country.

  14. A change of federal government which may not happen so soon, means, the coalition (DAP+PKR+PAS) will have to be left to work effectively within limited avenues, resources and existing conditions.

    Unless, the ruling government decides to have an open mind to see and hear the objectives of the people, the nation, and perhaps cooperate. Even so, it is also a matter of trust, and integrity (two of the many difficult things in life which is difficult to rebuild and restore).

  15. To Mr. & Mrs. Cruella,

    Thank you for contributing to global economic growth and world peace. And thank you for giving the people and nation something to be proud of and for allowing our global counterparts sing praise and RESPECT for the people and the country.

  16. “There are, of course, runaway elements in the Academy who have a chip on their shoulder and think they are God’s gift to humanity and medicine. But these charlatans can easily be exposed as most doctors know who they are. With our courts hopefully liberated, some of these demigods ought to be sued for malafide and misuse of authority.”

    Well put LTT, this is certainly a topic that has been discussed by many.
    Bottom line is that we are not a litigous society (yet) and would rather sort things out in the proper manner.

    However, I wonder if it is about time that someone sets a precedent by pointing out to these “demigods” that they are subject to the laws of this country by taking them to court.
    They place restrictions that very adversely affect the lives of many of us and continue to be unreasonable and supremely condescending anytime anyone tries to reason with them.

    The motives behind some of these “rules” are all too apparent.

  17. New Terengganu MB appointed
    BERNAMA

    KIJAL state assemblyman Datuk Ahmad Said has been appointed the new Menteri Besar of Terengganu and will take the oath of office in Kuala Terengganu tomorrow, the office of the Sultan of Terengganu announced today. – BERNAMA

  18. Sdr Lim Senior & LTT

    MCA to blame?
    That’s not true at all. Many non-Malay specialists have returned and stayed, some have gone back, especially if they have foreign wives, who may not be able to adapt so well here.

    Sdr Lim & LTT, unless we speak the truth and post factually correct statements, we are no better than anyone, whether in or outside the Government.

    LKS blogsite must speak the correct, factual truth. As one who has served in the government, it is an unfair swipe to say all that. The Ministry of Health is one of the most multiracial of all government departments and has an atmosphere of a Malaysian Malaysia.

    All races work together at work and play together after work [sing, karaoke, dance, drink…lepak] in the Ministry of Health, without feeling inferior or superior.

    However, the trend is changing and this is worrying. For example, in medical school in the 70s and 80s, we have a lot of fun together and we have great friends across the races and religion [Come on, Malaysians! Stop thinking M, C, I, O….think Malaysian]

    It is much more polarised now, I am told.

    PLEASE DO NOT MAKE SWEEPING STATEMENTS LIKE “MCA IS TO BLAME” eg. sweeping statements like “DAP” or “UMNO” caused the 1969 riots. Can we not grow up towards a higher level of maturity and work towards a united nation.

  19. MCA to blame? No, it’s the collective fault of MCA + umno + MIC + Gerakan + PPP + the remainder mosquito parties that make up BN.

    The remedy? Easy— Dump BN in the remainder 8 states in its feeble, dying grasp

  20. Old.observer, don’t be too smart!
    If you really think you are too proud too be one Malaysian, why not look for other blog that suits you.
    Everyone has the right to voice out their concern.
    What I’m saying are true facts.
    Speaking about Dr LMK’s problem, if the goverment does not recognise his qualification, why should he be back here for?
    Maybe you’re a kind of dude who’s trying to look for some sort of arguement here.
    Sorry! I’m not your kind.

  21. LTT, I really respect you !!! What a dream article ..

    To be frank, you have suggested very good ideas for our new minister of health – Datuk Liow Tiong Lai, but nothing will be executed by him.

    The reason is very simple.

    First, he is not a doctor and he is new to the position and field. He needs people like Ismail Merican to guide him to start with. He needs Ismail Merican symbiotically.

    Second, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai cannot remove him because he is dependent on him.

    Third, this issue has involved starting from Ismail Merican all the way to the academy of Medicine. Do you think he has the balls to change and challenge every single one? Does he have the gut to fight against the whole system?

    All the suggestions are good, but I doubt Datuk Liow Tiong Lai can do ANYTHING to stop this problem, eliminate Ismail Merican and reshuffle those dictators in the academy of medicine.

    Datuk Liow Tiong Lai is new, he is not a doctor, he has nobody beside him to fight within the ministry of health. He is very very helpless. Sometimes I feel very very pity of him … he cannot do much … just a little chinese puppet or kitty for exhibition only ..

    What a sad thing for us ..

  22. Sometimes we can assess the motivation of a government by looking at the ministers being assigned to different ministries. The UMNO led BN I must say was never really interested in Health, Transport, Human Resource, and Local Government Ministries. I said this base on the fact that (i) MCA ministers are appointed to these posts year in and year out and (ii) the state of health care, human resource development, public transportation systems and local governments are in deep sh!t.

    The BN government has always thought that health care, human resource development, public transportation and local governments are unimportant ministries that have no glamour and perhaps have less opportunity for corruption. That is why they are always being helmed by MCA ministers who do not carry enough influence to bring change and effectiveness to these ministries. But think about it; these are the ministries that actually have the most important impact on the quality of live, standard of living and cost of living of the rakyat. It is time the government pay attention to these ministries and assign more capable ministers to helm the agencies.

  23. no point begging,

    the PRIORITY now is to cut down clinic waiting time to 30 minutes

    other plight to improve dogtor’s working condition will only be entertain perhaps in 2013, if you r lucky

    if u can’t bear with it go work in darfur or afghanistan or palestine, probably better treatment

  24. It is too simplistic to blame the MCA alone. It is the entire BN machinery that was put in place my Mahathir that is to be blamed. After all, the issue of university entrance policies, the recognition policies, etc are not within the sole ambit of the Ministry of Health. It is the joint efforts between the Ministry of Higher Education, the PM’s department and the Ministry of Health that determine such policies. In short, we should just blame the Government.

  25. MARGINALISATION is the keyword. This does not only confine to the Medical sector but also to others such as IT, finance, Accountancy, Engineering etc. Just take Singapore for example and ask some non-Malay professionals and 5 out of 10 will answer that they are Malaysians. Why? you may ask and the answer is the same, no opportunity to be at the top even though you are the best. Therefore, might as well work in a foreign country and obtain a higher pay and better life for the family. The policies of NEP for the past 50 years have driven away thousands of gifted professionals which have greatly benifited Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and if these policies are to continue then in 20-30 years time we will be at the bottom in Asean.

  26. Sigh…MCA take the blame again. Well, that’s how BN has formulated it. Housing, Transport, Health, Primary Industries…aren’t these part of our everyday lifes today. If economy no good, blame it on MCA too. What other credit can the MCA claim besides talking how much $ going to Chinese schools. Is that all they are good for? How much longer can the MCA take this kind of torture by BN…another 4-5years? All the ministries are pretty screwed up if looking at it on the whole. Cost of housing is not well balanced to income, price of car also not balanced to income, too much emphasis on private healthcare, primary industries are facing energy & resource crisis,…all these not well organized to function synergistically. It’s time to put some changes & go back to drawing board…in which case, it was probably erased 50 years ago. Got to start somewhere & I am not hoping it can start with MCA. Under BN, MCA will never get to enjoy such credit.

  27. shame on you DAP

    DAP also MARGINALISE teng chang khim !!!!!!

    shame shame shame

    DAP ALSO MARGINALISE TENG CHANG KHIM !!!!!!

    DAP ALSO MARGINALISE TENG CHANG KHIM !!!!!!

    DAP ALSO MARGINALISE TENG CHANG KHIM !!!!!!

  28. dear lim kit siang

    can you just give me a reason why experienced Teng Chang Khim can’t become exco ?

    and

    also why other 3 inexperience people can become exco

    what is the difference between Ong Ka Ting and Lim Guan Eng ?

  29. pilihanrayaexpert Says:

    Today at 03: 48.22 (59 minutes ago)
    shame on you DAP

    DAP also MARGINALISE teng chang khim !!!!!!

    shame shame shame

    DAP ALSO MARGINALISE TENG CHANG KHIM !!!!!!

    DAP ALSO MARGINALISE TENG CHANG KHIM !!!!!!

    DAP ALSO MARGINALISE TENG CHANG KHIM !!!!!!

    ——————-

    Hey-er expert,

    Did you forget to take your medication this morning?

    You have come to the right forum. Perhaps the good doctors here can give you a couple of jabs of valium. :)

    If this is just a simple case of verbal diarrhea. Don’t worry, it will soon pass.

    “Don’t worry about a thing, cos’ every little thing gonna be alright …. ” Bob Marley.

  30. dear lim kit siang

    can you just give me a reason why experienced Teng Chang Khim can’t become exco ?

    and

    also why other 3 inexperience people can become exco

    what is the difference between Ong Ka Ting and Lim Guan Eng ?

  31. I am not sure it is a wise thing to politicize this FRCS issue.

    I am not sure that the general Malaysian voter is sophisticated enough to understand the issues. Even if they are, I don’t think that this issue is high on their list of priorities for change. Therefore the minister of health and the academy if they feel cornered by the opposition can easily dig in with little or no political consequences. And this will drag on and on ….

    However, I think our friends, the pro-BN supporters that are reading this blog, can help. If any of you are following this thread, please do what you can to highlight these issues to your party. You are not doing this for the opposition and you are not doing this for the doctors but you are doing this cos’ it is the right thing to do for the Malaysian public.

  32. “Of the 10 executive councillors, PKR will have four posts, DAP (3) and PAS (3).

    It is understood that PKR have been allocated four exco positions in which two members – Dr Xavier Jayakumar (Seri Andalas) and Elizabeth Wong (Bukit Lanjan) – are non-Malays.”

    Yes, what experience does a novice like Elizabeth Wong bring to the state EXCO?? Looks like gender issue has won over experience! Even then there are more qualified ones.

  33. it is the same for Professionals in the building Industry, Check it out. Especially on those gomen funded Project sign boards.

    “Konsultants” from the same factories or manufactured in the same way became millionaires.

    Many of these clowns were positioned in construction based GLC, and dictates who to tender and who to award jobs acquired through gomen contacts.
    They are millionaires too.

  34. Look what I found in the Malaysian Bar website:

    SEE FROM NATIONAL PRISM
    written by Stephen Tan, 21 March, 2008 at 11:35 pm

    Over the years, the drift towards consociational politics appeared healthy until simple detection showed that communal-based parties such as the MCA and the MIC never held the actual reins of power.

    At best, the equation showed that these two “partners” were playing mere contractors to Umno’s role as the developer. Put in trinitarian terms, Umno was God the Father while these two parties were just Holy Ghosts who sometimes failed to cause the Pentecost.

    In light of the above, issues must be seen and tackled from the national prism and not the communal one.

    Votes: +9

    The url is http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal/general_news/tackle_issues_as_one_party_call_to_bn.html

  35. DAP ALSO MARGINALISE TENG CHANG KHIM

    Well what I have read in other websites shows that Teng will be given the Deputy Speakers post in the Selangor Exco.

    We have to wait and see whether this will be materialised.

  36. This is 1st time we are truly experiencing some form of true democracy here & it shows we lack the experience handling it. Let all the new state exco (BR-states) form to let some dust settle & go from there. All the positions are not permanent…if can’t handle, surely the right thing will be done or the state exco will do the right thing. The old formula is down the drain. We just cleansed the drain & expectations are high already. But let’s also hope they don’t need 4-5 years to warm up…the country’s interest cannot be treated like a football league.

  37. Wher DAP suffer,PAS always gets the benefits.In Perak Pas gets the MB post eventhough they had the least number of seats.In Selangor PAS get the same number of excos as DAP despite winning 5 seats less thanks to our dear old Sultan.

    And Teng Chang Khim deserves the DMB post instead of the DS post.

  38. Ladygorilla the Pervert,
    First, I think you have not right to make specific comment against Elizabeth Wong. Which opposition leaders have experience in running a government? Surely we have to trust their education, professional experience in their own respective fields and most important of all their integrity and ethics. Only time will tell.

    Second, whichever way the new MB decides on the EXCO, there will be some who are not satisfied. He can’t please everybody especially for someone like you, a pathetic racist – seeing two Indians robbers must report seeing two dark skin robbers.

    Third, do you think the MB has the absolute discretion in deciding the EXCO line up that involves representatives from other partners in the coalition? If you are a supporter of Teng, you should ask Sdr Lim specifically on this issue. What are you trying to get at here – a typical ambiguous and no brainer here talking?

  39. I guess when we talk about change, we’re indirectly saying that we want younger blood in governing in our country. Therefore, it’s impossible to have someone very experienced but, we just have to trust the next person to govern which we believe based on his/her qualifications, competencies and most importantly, a good attitude.

  40. My ex-classmate currently in London,shares a similar experience. He is one of those so called a Chartered Quantity Surveyor registered with RICS(The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). His qualification is basically accredited by almost every equivalent national bodies in the world.

    With the exception of Malaysia, of course!!!

    He is qualified to undertake mega building and infrastructure projects in places like Dubai, Shanghai, SG and Australia. But unable to do the same in Malaysia.

    So I m afraid such discrimination exist across the so called professional bodies (be it medical, engineering,law and other technical areas).

    Due to our former regime, the culture of protecting the personal interest of the powerful few has become intoxicating in every division of our society.

    These so called local professionals need to get their sweet lucrative mega deals. They need have preferential treament from the governments. They need to be protected from competition by fellow international professionals.

  41. Such irresponsible accreditation culture will only benefit the selected fews. These protective policies will only breed complacencies among local professionals and not conducive for them compete globally.

    It totally neglects the interest of general public who are the actual one pay for such services.

  42. Malaysians have suffered enough from absurdmega/billion projects. Simple and transparent cost benefit analysis would have prevented such loss-making projects.

    That is why need truly ethical and rational technical professionals people.

  43. It is a wonder about the existence of the issue of “brain-drain” in Malaysia. Brain-drain happened in other countries due to economic discrepancy (e.g. Poland, Romania etc), War (e.g. Iraq, Israel etc), Ethnical selection (e.g. Sudan, South Africa), erroneous governmental policy (e.g. Mexico, Burma etc) but not many counties can attribute the “brain drain” effect to “bureaucracy and cronyism” (like Zimbabwe etc), economic discrepancy, erroneous public policy and Ethnic preferential treatment, all roll into one huge mess!
    As suggested by LTT, a shadow cabinet has to be formed from the new DAP-PAS-PKR. In addition to this suggestion, I would like to draw the public attention to the fact that the political minister may change his/her administration policy but it is the ring of advisors and the remaining senior staffs that determine how the new administration be “interpreted”. An independent audit committee that only answer to public voters has to be assembled to cleanse these cronies. They are the roots!

  44. What can Datuk Liow Tiong Lai do? Another pameran ..

    Who can topple the academy of medicine? How? Tulis bukan bukan saja kat sini ..

    LTT’s opinion is very true and good, but, will Uncle Lim address it in the parliament? Hmmm …. :(

    My relative was blinded by a doctor mata (buatan malaysia) yang BELUM PAKAR LAGI, my uncle has even protested it in the newspaper (see Utusan Malaysian 31/10/2005 Monday page 12 on forum) … but nothing was done ..

    This fellow was working in the KKM hospital, MMC DID not prosecute him, AM only punished him by an extension of another 6 months of gazzettement … now, he has signed off, he is blinding people in his private clinic …

    Would YB Liow Tiong Lai be keen to know his MMC registration number is 23324? Would Pak Lah be interested to know about this? In fact my uncle has written to Pak Lah so many times but no reply.

    Election is NOT only focusing on those uneducated padi field farmers or blue collar, BN has such a bad victory because of long term ignoring on those educated with brain people.

    All this is just a dream and sad discussion.

  45. Members of MCA, MIC and Gerakan should consider leaving their respective party and merge to form a new multiracial political party. MCA and MIC in particular, should withdraw themselves from political activities, so it can play the role of NGO. This is a win win situation as MCA and MIC can still look after the ineterest of minorities.

  46. That’s a good one….hmmm….just in a short span of 2 weeks, many 3-letter words have now become apt prefixes to MCA.

    WHY, TRY, LIE, DIE, BYE, CRY.

    Now SHY MCA. No more face to show, they might as well just go extinct.

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