Govt Will Not Entertain Appeals On CSMU - Dr Chua

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The government will not entertain appeals on de-recognition of the medical degree from the Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) in Ukraine.
Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the door for appeals was closed as the CSMU had not appealed or replied to the enquiries made by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) on the issue despite of the long period given to them.
The government regretted the university's attitude which had remained silent all this while, especially when the de-recognition issue was hotly talked about in the country for the past two weeks.
"Till now, we have not received any reply or appeals from CSMU. Only the Ukraine Ambassador to Malaysia made a statement and he tried to turn the matter into a political issue.
"Hence, the cabinet, in its weekly meeting yesterday, decided not to entertain any appeals from the university. The decision is final," he told reporters at Parliament lobby Thursday.
On education quality at CSMU, Dr Chua said the quality of its graduates was suspect, especially their understanding of medical terminologies in English.
"This is because CSMU still used Russian language as the medium of instruction although it was asked to conduct the medical degree programme in English.
"The government is actively promoting Malaysia as a medical tourism destination. This effort will not succeed if people questioned the quality of Malaysian doctors," he said.
Earlier, replying to Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) in the Dewan Rakyat, Dr Chua said the decision to withdraw the recognition was made based on professional assessment without any political or racial undertones.
Therefore, he said, the decision should not be exploited by political parties to fish for votes.
He also said the decision was made taking into account the safety concerns of students following reports of students being raped and threatened not to report the crime to the authorities.
"Besides safety, corruption is also an issue. The MMC sent a letter last year seeking an explanation on the matter but there has been no reply till today," he said.
Dr Chua said the MMC also wrote in to the Ukraine Medical Council seeking clarification that the Ukraine government through its medical council did not recognise Malaysian students who are graduates of CSMU and there has been no reply till today.
He also said CSMU graduates have shallow knowledge and weak skills due to their poor command of English.
"Therefore, we decided to withdraw the recognition. We want quality doctors. We endorse MMC's decision," he said.