Question Time: Opportunity in adversity for Sothinathan

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By P Gunasegaram
Datuk S Sothinathan's suspension as a deputy minister for three months raises the question of whether the "punishment" reflects the "crime". But it does nothing to answer the older question of the debacle over the decision to stop recognising medical degrees from Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) of Ukraine.
Let's take the first issue first.
The unprecedented step of suspending a deputy minister, also Member of Parliament for Telok Kemang and MIC secretary-general — positions that he will keep — was taken because he criticised the government while being a member of the government.
Sothinathan had last Tuesday interrupted Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, who was speaking in Parliament over the decision by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) to stop recognition of the CSMU medical degree.
Relying on the Hansard, the official record of Parliamentary proceedings, Sothinathan's interruption came soon after Abdul Latiff said: "If a leader of a component party in the Barisan Nasional says that the decision [to withdraw recognition] was to reduce the capacity of the Indian community to produce doctors, it is not true at all." According to earlier press reports, MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu had alleged as much.
Abdul Latiff proceeded to provide statistics and said that over 200 Malay students are in CMSU but "our friends in Umno support [the decision to withdraw recognition] because Umno is the custodian of quality".
It was at this juncture that Sothinathan, feathers obviously ruffled, asked for permission to speak. He explained that since over 500 students or more than 50% of the students involved were Indians, MIC was obliged to offer its views.
But he did not stop there. He questioned why the MMC, if it were professional, had recognised CSMU in 2001. He went on to ask why the Higher Education Ministry issued no-objection certificates to applicants to the university. This was probably in reference to earlier reports that part of the reason for withdrawing recognition was the poor quality of candidates.
Admittedly, Sothinathan was behaving like a backbencher here rather than a member of the administration. But he could have been excused for that, considering that another administration member made a barely disguised reference to MIC and the party boss.
Could the view not have been taken — considering the heat of the moment, the emotive content in the issue, some provocation to boot and the need to have constructive debate — that Sothinathan could have been excused for his behaviour? What good comes out of making him an example?
Also, others besides Sothinathan were more to blame for emotionalising the issue and when he questions the decision of the MMC, he is not questioning an arm of the government but a body set up under an Act of Parliament. In this instance, however, the government supports the decision of the council in stopping the recognition of CSMU degrees.
In the ensuing melee, the question that started it all has been relegated to the back burner — should the recognition for medical degrees from the CSMU be withdrawn? If so, why?
If there are good reasons for this, the MMC has certainly not articulated them well. MMC president and Health Ministry secretary-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican attributed the withdrawal of recognition to the dubious qualifications of students, the number of students per lecturer, and a possible drop in quality of teaching because of a sharp increase in students, amongst others.
As it turns out, it was the Higher Education Ministry that issued no-objection certificates to some of these students, implying they had the minimum qualifications to undertake the course. Such a situation understandably gave the perception that the decision to stop recognition may have had other motives.
But to be fair to the MMC, it made it clear that the current 1,119 students who have already enrolled in CSMU classes could continue as they are not affected by the move to stop recognition of the medical degrees.
This was glossed over as the situation got politicised. Those who would be affected are those planning to study in CSMU rather than those who are already there and therefore, the fallout from the so-called de-recognition will be a lot smaller than the figures suggest. This point was reiterated by the deputy health minister in his reply in Parliament last Tuesday.
The MMC on its part should be a lot more transparent over its recognition procedure. In the haste to de-recognise, it can close the door to lower-income Malaysians, not just Indians but those from other races as well, obtaining medical degrees cheaply, considering the highly limited places in Malaysia and the very high cost of and limited places in developed countries.
The council and the government should certainly do a lot more to produce doctors locally by setting up more facilities in the country. That will reduce dependence on foreign countries and give more highly qualified Malaysians of all races opportunities to obtain medical degrees. Why is the government not doing that?
Meantime, the only victim of this latest Crimean war, which has been blown out of proportion, is Deputy Minister Sothinathan. But this bit of adversity may give his political career a welcome opportunity and boost.
Now everyone knows Sothinathan. Hope his boss is not too discomfited.

P Gunasegaram is group executive editor at The Edge.