Government considering recognition for courses in TCM

NST: The Government is considering giving recognition for courses in traditional and complementary medicine (TCM), Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said today.
“The ministry has held preliminary talks with the Higher Education Ministry and the National Accreditation Board regarding this matter and further talks have been approved by the Cabinet,” he said.
Dr Chua said the Government was also considering giving accreditations to several universities in China, India and Indonesia.
“The upcoming Traditional and Complementary Medicine Control Act will also enable us to better regulate the field,” he said.
“With the Act, we will be able to register TCM practitioners so that we can ensure that they have proper training approved by the Government and the code of ethics they have to follow.”
The Bill for the legislation is expected to be tabled in Parliament next year.
Chua said there were 219 foreign TCM practitioners in Malaysia, mostly in the field of Ayurvedic medicine, massage and reflexology.
Dr Chua urged local universities to offer courses in the TCM.
“Even the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia is offering courses in TCM. Local universities should look into this,” Chua told reporters after opening the Women’s Health and Asian Traditional Medicine Conference and Exhibition.
Chua also called on local companies to expand their operations in the herbal and traditional medicine sector.
“There is a big potential for this sector in Malaysia, considering that we are ranked 12th in the world in terms of biodiversity,” Chua said.
A total of 14,385 herbal and traditional medicinal products have been registered with the ministry, 60 per cent of which is local and 40 per cent imported from China, Indonesia and India.
TCM practitioners have hailed the Government’s move. Dr Thomas Ong, the president of the Malaysian Association of Chiropractic Practitioners, said there was a need for accreditation to weed out bogus chiropractors.
“At the moment, anybody can offer the service even though they do not have the qualifications to do so,” he said.
Ong said chiropractic is a well-regulated field at the international level as the World Health Organisation and the World Federation of Chiropractic only recognised chiropractors who graduated from 33 institutions worldwide.
“In Malaysia, there are only 25 chiropractors who graduated from these institutions,” he said.
Nik Omar Nik Daud, president of the Malaysian Homeopathic Medical Practitioners Association of Malaysia, called for full accreditation to be given for TCM courses.
“We want to ensure that those planning to take a course in homeopathy, for instance, are not required to get a degree in another field first,” he said.