Materia Medica Malaysiana

Samy Vellu to brief Cabinet on college

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu is expected to explain to the Cabinet today the quandary faced by Malacca Manipal Medical College following new conditions set by the Malaysian Medical Council for the recognition of its degrees.

He said the college had given its side of the story to him, adding that its managing director, Dr Ranjan Pai, had briefed him on the allegations raised against it.

However, he declined to go into the allegations.

Speaking to reporters after handing over prizes to SM Taman Medan students who had excelled in their studies yesterday, Samy Vellu said several ministries were expected to give their feedback on the matter during the Cabinet meeting. “I will submit the college's side of the story.”

He said he hoped the Cabinet would make an appropriate decision.

About 1,200 medical students of the college are caught in a dilemma after the council imposed new conditions to recognise the degree courses they are pursuing.

It is believed that final year students would be required to pass an exit examination before they could undergo their housemanship.

On Monday, Samy Vellu said the college was set up by the late Datuk K. Pathmanaban, a former MIC vice-president, with the approval of the relevant authorities.

He said that the council should have outlined the conditions before the Government approved the college.

Dr Pai explained that the National Accreditation Board had visited the campus in Malacca and its India-based foreign partner, Kasturba Medical College, earlier this year before it met with the council in June.

He urged parents and students not to worry about the degree not being recognised, as the Education and Health Ministries, as well as the MIC, were supportive of the college.