MMC to review all medical institutions

More than 300 foreign medical institutions, which are recognised by the Malaysian Government, will be reviewed in a “clean up” exercise.
Malaysian Medical Council president Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said this was necessary as none of the institutions had been reviewed since the inception of the 1971 Medical Act.
He said some of these institutions had over the years changed their names, destroyed in war or upgraded themselves from colleges to universities.
He said such changes were not made known to the council. The statement did not give the timeframe for the review.
“The Council was only aware of such changes upon the application for registration by its graduates.
“The affected graduates have to wait for the Second Schedule (of the Act) to be amended before they are eligible for registration,” he said.
At present 343 medical institutions from 30 countries (including Malaysia) are recognised by the council.
Dr Ismail said the council will be meeting foreign ambassadors and high commissioners to Malaysia on Tuesday to discuss several issues.
“The discussion will include the state of existence of the institutions, changes in the names of institutions and their reasons, their track record, the medium used in teaching and the number of Malaysian students there,” he added.
Dr Ismail said the council was authorised to withdraw recognition of any institution that did not conform to the council’s requirements.
He said the reviewed institutions would be gazetted in the Second Schedule of the Act.
He added that the review would not affect undergraduates and graduates of any of these institutions.
“There have been colleges that were found not suitable for recognition by the MMC for various reasons, including unsuitable curriculum, lack of facilities for teaching and training and inadequate staffing,” he said.
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