Letters
by Frustrated doctor
The Star article titled ‘Hope Yet For Med Grads’ (10th April 2008) claims to give the option to unrecognised doctors of transferring credits to local establishments to pursue their goal of becoming doctors . If this article is true , this is a misleading thing the new health minister is undertaking .
Firstly , the option to transfer credits has been there since 1998 when students in Indonesia were allowed to pay 60,000rm to an agent to transfer to Malaysian recognised Indonesian government universities . Many decided not to pursue this option as they didn’t have the money ; and the studies they were doing in other universities which were claimed to be unrecognised in Malaysia were actually on par with the recognised government universities there .
This whole credit transfer came about when 3 JPA sponsored students from Padang came back after only 4 years of theory claiming that they had finished their studies and were posted to do their housemanship . Not having any clinical experience , their peers and dept heads found them lacking and refused to accept them when it was found out that they didn’t do their 2 years of clinicals to be considered doctors in Indonesia . Thus , JPA and MMC tried asking the U in Padang to take them back but the U refused saying that they had ‘mencemarkan nama baik universitas’ . Thus , JPA had to pay hefty amounts to the govt U in Bandung who decided to allow them to continue their studies there . Using this case of credit transfer , an agent worked out with various other recognised Indonesia government universities to accept students . Even local Indonesian students were irritated with this as this smacked of double standards as the same option was denied even to them .
It is a known fact that wherever JPA is able to put students , the U is given recognition in a short time . Malay students were gathered and all placed in an Islamic private medical U to finish their studies . However , due to the large number of non-bumi students there , this U was not given recognition and the Malay students were placed in the govt U in Bandung . However , since they hadn’t finished their 4 years of theory , the Bandung U gave some problems . Then they were placed a 3rd time in the govt U in Medan . This U was not strict with the rules as hefty sums were paid to the rector’s office to close a blind eye . Each transfer involved a sum of about 60K . Three transfers and the JPA would have paid nearly 200K for each chap . This is how much the govt doesn’t mind paying for bumi students from all the Petronas money they have received .
Needless to say , most of those who came back from unrecognised Universities were due to their parents being poor and not being able to afford the highly inflated capitation fees demanded for education in ‘esteemed’ recognised institutions . The moment a university becomes recognised , the fees in fact sky rocket even doubling or tripling the earlier amount . If you ask the MMC , they will claim that the recognition is not done by them but by a panel from various bodies . Basically , it is done by non-medical practitioners who are feted nicely and given under counter money to get the university recognised . The MMC is more interested in bringing back specialists who refuse to return home even after having all their studies sponsored by the government but turn a blind eye to doctors from unrecognised universities who are willing to slog it out for the government even when they paid for all their studies on their own .
Also , due to the quota system , most unrecognised doctors couldn’t get into the only 3 local institutions here then . Only now is there an abundance of medical universities . The quota for Indian doctors into UKM , UM and USM then was just about 5 or 6 per year in total . Thus , even with good grades , many had to seek options overseas . When they realised after 2 years of pre-clinical studies overseas , the huge amount which was unaffordable to their parents ; they had no choice but to enter unrecognised universities .
In a country which is lacking doctors , they thought the govt would appreciate them coming back to serve . However , the NEP govt under Mahathir made rules even stricter . During the early 80s , unrecognised doctors could come back and do 1 year of probation before starting housemanship . However , there were some ungrateful chaps who complained that they were being paid 200rm lesser from houseman for the same work . Using this , the govt made an even bigger mistake by insisting that they now had to sit for an exam with the 3 local universities – UM , UKM and USM . These universities were even stricter with these doctors going to the level of ridiculing them in front of patients and staff and using them as the failure rate to pass off their students .
Exams were stricter for unrecognised doctors with them having different role numbers , having to answer the same questions in English while their local counterparts answered in Malay , negative marking for unrecognised doctors but not for the local chaps , marks given for the course work to be accumulated into the theory papers for local chaps but none for the unrecognised doctors etc . Even in the clinical exams , they would be questioned more than local counterparts as no lecturer when examining their students would want to make it look like they hadn’t taught their students well .
Also , with the NEP policy of even giving the exam questions to Malay students in the guise of ceramah Agama a day before the exams , the fate for the unrecognised doctors was sealed . If they failed , they had no one to speak on their behalf ; but the local university senates could even pass off failed local students even after 3 attempts . Furthermore , even if they passed one part of the exam , they couldn’t just repeat the parts they didn’t get through but had to repeat the whole exam . In all 3 attempts , they may have actually cleared the various portions at different times . When questioned , the MMC said this was the university’s ruling and they couldn’t do anything about it . They insist that the doctors pay them 200rm when registering to sit for the exam but then deny any responsibility for the exam . The unrecognised doctors sit for the same exams but do not get the university’s cert at the end of the day .
Many from Indonesia questioned why they were being made to sit for a theory exam when technically their theory years were recognised due to the credit transfer which was allowed . Even with all obstacles , nearly 90% cleared the clinical exams . However, the MMC gave them only 2 reasons – firstly , that they can not help the unrecognised doctors , and secondly ; they are not to question what MMC does . Thus , most after just 1 attempt refused to be subjected to any more attempts and 30 took a court case in 2004 .
Actually , in February 2002 , the cabinet chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Badawi (when Mahathir was overseas) announced that the health minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng would will use his powers as the minister to absorb the unrecognised doctors . They were to do 1 year of supervised service followed by 2 years of housemanship and 3 years as a medical officer . However , the MMC objected to this – as usual not acting in the interest of doctors as their cash cow of ‘recognition’ would be killed off . Finally , after making the doctors wait the whole year , they used the information during the registration of the doctors for this program to overrule the minister who had publicly announced in the newspapers and even on the TV3 and NTV7 news . MMC gave the reason that since nearly 70% had not attempted the exams even once , they had to sit for a one off 6 months training at the local hospitals and attempt the exams at the 3 government universities . This was confirmed by Samy Vello in January 2003 , who insisted that the doctors go for it . When questioned about the earlier cabinet decision , he said Mahathir (being the dictator he was) had over ruled the health minister .
They waited nearly 6 weeks for the results of the October 2003 exam when the local students knew their results in 3 days! When news of the dismal results came in where only 10-20% had passed , the doctors went to meet the new health minister in early 2004 , who welcomed them with open doors as he was new in the post . He even arranged for them to meet with the MMC , and that meeting took nearly 4 hours . However , 2 weeks later , Datuk Chua Soi Lek was too busy to meet them and the MMC gave their 2 famous sentences – “We can not help you” , and ; “you are not to question what we do” . This prompted 30 doctors to take the case in August 2004 .
When news of the case came out , the MMC held another one off 6 months training in 2005 and refused to accept those who had filed the case against them . Then they used the points the 30 doctors had raised to do an eye wash exam . They insisted all those who went for this to sign a declaration of waiver from holding them responsible for any lacks. They also made the doctors sit for a theory exam and then only those who passed , to sit for a clinical exam ; stating that they didn’t have the man power for a clinical exam for the nearly 70 who signed up . Needless to say , nearly 2/3rds were failed in the theory exam and the MMC upheld its quota of only passing about 10% to 20% .
The MMC always talks about quality doctors . However , in early 2005 , they predated the recognition of a Russian U to accept nearly 150 chaps who had come out from there before recognition was granted . In this , there were chaps who had failed the exams in all 3 attempts but now are working due to this simple paper ruling . Even the MMC President and DG for Health knowing the short falls , announced last year that he wanted all doctors from overseas to sit for an exam . However , needless to say , the agents and rich parents who can afford nearly ½ a million to 1 million in fees put a stop to this .
Just before the elections , the unrecognised doctors met Samy hoping that the BN would offer them some goodies . However , when Samy put the idea of going to his U to do a credit transfer , they refused flatly to it . Now , to offer goodies after their dismal showing in the elections , the BN govt has decided to help the unrecognised chaps . AIMST is a new university with a medical faculty just in their infancy . To give a credit transfer to them is a slap in the face for unrecognised doctors who come from universities which are 40 to 100 years old . They are already doctors . To make them go back to U for 3 years is like a double slap in their faces . Who is going to pay for their families , house and car loans etc when they are supposed to go back to study . For this , the minister who claims to look out for Indian affairs would offer a MIC loan but why should they take a loan which must be paid up later . The minister is going to meet the doctors on Tuesday to most probably announce that this is the best and final option just like he did in 2003 before they were made to go for the slaughter of the first one-off 6 month training and exam .
For the doctors , nothing short of taking them in like what was promised in 2002 is a rape of their intellectual minds .