So near, yet so far

Star Education:
ALL through secondary school, Dr Michael Sivananda's goal was to become a doctor.
He was one step closer to his goal when he did well in his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination in 1988 and obtained six As.
His next move was to do pre-university studies in India with the hope of continuing his medical studies there.
However, when the fees for medical degrees in India shot up, he was stuck and had to look for a more affordable alternative. He settled for Indonesia – at a university not recognised by the Malaysian Government.
And that was when his problems began.
“Of course I would have preferred to have gone to a recognised institution. However, the moment an institution makes it into the recognised list, the fees shoot up.
“Not everyone can afford to pay these exorbitant fees. That is why we took the risk of going to an unscheduled university, only to realise when we came back that there were many complications involved in the MQE (Medical Qualifying Examination),” he says.
At that time, medical studies were only available in Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia, and there were no private medical universities.
He enrolled in a private university in Medan that was recognised by the World Health Organisation but not the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC).
Dr Michael claims that at that time, only government universities were recognised.
He subsequently passed his finals without having to repeat any subjects.
Dr Michael returned from Indonesia in 2001 and sat for the MQE, only to obtain a borderline failing mark in the theory paper. However, he was told that he had to re-sit the entire examination even though he had passed the clinical part.
“All I wanted to do was come back and serve as a doctor. Now, I’m left with no stable job. However, I refuse to resort to doing locum illegally like some others,” he says.
Dr Michael’s wife currently supports him and their children, as he and 29 other medical graduates are involved in a lawsuit against the MMC; they are seeking a declaration to be allowed to practise.

Disillusioned students
As a result of the low passing rate among those who sit for the MQE, medical students currently pursuing their degrees at unrecognised universities are already worrying about their future.
Third-year medical student Shafiz Mustafa and his classmates, who are studying in Ukraine, are upset and confused as to why their university is not recognised by the MMC despite it being accredited in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
“Our university is considered excellent, both in aspects of theory and practical work. We also have very good facilities and lecturers,” he says.
Shafiz adds that many Malaysians at the university do not plan to return and sit for the MQE.
“We are so tired of going through all this that many of us don’t want to come back. For those of us who do, we already know our chances of getting through are small.
“The Government should do something about this issue if they don’t want to lose all their future doctors,” he says.
Asked why he chose to study at an unrecognised university, he says a recruiting agent had assured him that it would soon be recognised but this has so far not come true.
“It was extremely difficult to get into Malaysian public universities, and other scheduled universities as well. As our chances were very slim, we decided to come here,” says Shafiz.
Medical graduates Shanti Mohan and Tan Ai Mei are extremely nervous about sitting for the upcoming examinations after learning about the low passing rate.
Ai Mei, who studied in China, is not confident of doing well in the MQE at all.
“I went to an unscheduled university because my seniors recommended it highly. I didn’t know that it would be so difficult to pass this final hurdle.
“If I had known about all these issues earlier, I might not have gone there,” she says.
Shanti decided to go to a university in Romania as she could not afford the scheduled universities.
“I am quite apprehensive about the sitting for the exam, although everyone who has sat for it from my university has passed.
“Hearing about the high failure rate is quite scary though,” she says.

Names of those interviewed have been changed to protect their privacy.