Materia Medica Malaysiana

CRIMEAN WAR 2005: MPs trade barbs over medical council action

There was high drama at the Dewan Rakyat today when emotional MPs exchanged allegations and insults over the de-recognition of the Crimea State Medical University.
At one point, MPs’ party lines were blurred, with the DAP and MIC appearing to momentarily join forces to question Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad over the issue.
It began when Latiff told the House that Arts-stream students who had failed their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia were among those accepted by the institution.
They had apparently managed to obtain no-objection letters from the Higher Education Ministry to pursue the course despite their lack of qualifications.
By then, the decibel level had risen with DAP and Barisan Nasional MPs, except those from the MIC, trading barbs.
Latiff, raising his voice above the din, said that while there were students with excellent academic credentials at CSMU, there were also those with questionable entry qualifications.
At this juncture, Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, who had obtained permission from the Speaker yesterday to debate a motion on the issue, stood up to question Latiff’s statements.
What followed was almost five minutes of near-pandemonium as Lim and fellow DAP MPs took to the floor to question Latiff, to the jeers of BN backbenchers.
Describing the Malaysian Medical Council’s decision in the matter as "high-handed, arbitrary and insensitive", Lim said it had failed to take into account the undergraduates’ welfare.
He was followed by M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) and Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong), who criticised the MMC decision, asking why the body had not given CSMU a grace period to rectify alleged weaknesses.
He added that Malaysian Indians had gone to CSMU as they could not afford more expensive institutions elsewhere.
Kulasegaran alleged that former Education Minister Tan Sri Musa Mohamad had expressed surprise at the number of Indians at CSMU during a visit.
(MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu had also earlier criticised the MMC decision, calling it a move to prevent more Indians from becoming doctors.)
K. Devamany (BN-Cameron Highlands) entered the fray at this point, expressing concern over the welfare of students already enrolled at the university.
Datuk Dr Rahman Ismail (BN-Gombak) immediately defended the MMC’s decision, saying it had acted professionally.
Latiff said the decision was made by the MMC after careful study.
"The decision is made solely to ensure quality, and has nothing to do with race, ethnicity or religion.
"Don’t be too emotional. The Ipoh Timur and Ipoh Barat MPs speak as if they are the ambassadors of Ukraine. They also want to give the impression that MIC and DAP are in cahoots over this issue."
Latiff took the floor again to resume explaining the MMC’s move even as heckling from the Opposition ranks persisted.
He said the number of Malaysian students had increased from a mere 53 to 1,366 in May this year, causing concern to the MMC.
"The desired lecturer-to-student ratio is one to four, but we got to know that it was one-to-eight at CSMU.
"We wrote to the university for an explanation in 2002 but none was forthcoming until the recent decision. So we gave them a grace period."
He said the move should not inconvenience students, as those from universities not recognised by the Government could still sit a medical qualifying examination.
"We give them three chances, sometimes even four, and I daresay most of those we gave this additional opportunity to — about 200 of them — were Indians.
"CSMU can also appeal after rectifying its shortcomings. We are also facilitating credit transfers for students who want to transfer to a recognised university."
Latiff said there were also Malay students at the university but Umno was not protesting.
"This is because Umno is a custodian of quality," he said.
Latiff said all BN component party chiefs, except Samy Vellu, had accepted the MMC decision.
This obviously provoked MIC secretary-general Datuk S. Sothinathan who stood up to urge Latiff not to get too emotional.
The Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Minister said the MIC, "as the party responsible for the welfare of Indians, was duty-bound to speak up on the issue".
He disagreed with Latiff’s statement that the majority of those who graduated from unrecognised universities were Indians.
"If MMC is indeed professional, how come it recognised CSMU in 2001? Why did it make a decision in haste? We want to know how many students from all countries are in CSMU."
A clearly agitated Sothinathan also questioned Latiff over how the Higher Education Ministry issued no-objection letters to unqualified students.
His outburst saw calls for him to "be quiet" and "sit down".
At this point, Dewan Rakyat deputy Speaker Datuk Lim Si Cheng asked MPs to take their seats, but his advice fell on deaf ears.
As it was already 5.30pm, Lim then called on Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz to read a motion to adjourn proceedings.
But an irate Nazri took several minutes to shout invective at Kulasegaran, ignoring repeated calls from Lim to sit.
This prompted Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) to ask Nazri to retract his statements under Standing Order 36 (10).
Lim managed to get all parties to sit down but this was not to be the end of the episode: BN MPs staged a walkout as Fong Kui Lun (DAP-Bukit Bintang) began his adjournment speech, with most heading for the MPs’ lounge.
The drama continued in the lobby as Nazri and Kit Siang continued their exchange of words.
Sothinathan, when met at the lobby, said: "It is our duty to raise the issue, and that is all we have done.
"We want to know why weaknesses identified in 2003 and last year were not rectified," he said, adding that the MIC was upset because nothing was done to remedy the situation before the de-recognition.
Latiff expressed surprise at Sothinathan’s outburst. "I do not know what triggered it," he said. "You must ask him.