Utar set to produce doctors

Star: PETALING JAYA: There is now a new and affordable avenue for Malaysians to study medicine locally.
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rah-man’s (Utar) new Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences will start its first intake in May for a course which will cost about RM50,000 a year, a fraction of what parents would have to pay for medical courses in other local private universities.
The Higher Education Ministry has approved the faculty’s Bache-lor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme. The faculty will accept an initial batch of 50 students this year.
Housed at the varsity’s Sg Long campus in Selangor, the MBBS programme will cost about RM250,000 for the entire five-year course. The amount is far smaller than similar programmes in traditional countries.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was also signed with the Health Ministry yesterday, formalising the placement of Utar medical and health sciences students at government hospitals.
With the MoA, Utar students will undergo their practicum, industrial training or clinical studies at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Ampang Hospital, Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Baru and Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh.
Commending Utar for its initiative, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said that his ministry was excited to accept Utar into its pool of collaborating universities.
There are currently 25 universities’ training doctors in Malaysia.
Ten of them are public universities while private universities and university colleges make up the rest. “This is a historical event for Utar,” said Liow in a press conference after the signing ceremony.
“Based on Utar’s track record in producing quality graduates and commitment in promoting lifelong learning, I have no doubt that the university will attain the same level of excellence in their new venture.”
Established on Nov 16, last year, Utar’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences also plans to offer three more degree programmes in Nursing, Physiotherapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The application process for Utar’s MBBS course is open until the end of March and selected applicants will be interviewed in early April.
Utar president and chief executive officer Prof Datuk Dr Chuah Hean Teik told The Star that the interview process would test applicants’ maturity, passion, commitment and attitude.