MMA struck off for flouting laws

Star: SEREMBAN: The move by the Registrar of Societies to de-register the Malaysian Medical Association has stunned some 10,000 doctors in the country who are its members.
“The MMA has clearly violated certain laws and that is why they have been de-registered,” said ROS senior assistant director Desmond Das Michael Das.
“But all is not lost as they can file an appeal with the Home Ministry within 30 days,” he said.
Early this month, The Star reported that the ROS had issued a show cause letter to the association as to why it should not be de-registered following alleged irregularities in the running of the organisation as well as in the election of its office bearers in May.

The four charges preferred against it were:
> Its failure to send out the list of candidates vying for positions within the specified period prior to the AGM
> Sending out an incomplete agenda
> Enforcing certain provisions that were not approved by the ROS, and
> Calling for nominations for certain positions well before the AGM.

Desmond said he would be meeting MMA office bearers on Monday as they had indicated their desire to appeal the decision.
The ROS decision came as a shock to members of the influential MMA, which is represented in various government agencies and boards and often consulted whenever amendments or new provisions are added to the country's health-related laws or policies.
The body has an ethics committee that monitors those in the profession and publishes an internationally recognised indexed journal which carries research articles.
When contacted, former MMA president and secretary-general Datuk Dr P. Krishnan expressed his disappointment with the MMA committee for not listening to the advice of its former leaders to declare the May election null and void.
This, he said, could have saved the association from being de-registered.
“It is sad that an influential organisation like the MMA has to go through this episode. They could have clearly prevented this,” he said.
MMA president Dr Mary Suma Cardosa had confirmed early this month the association had been issued a show cause letter and the MMA had given its reply.
She said there was no issue as it concerned only internal matters.
She was not available for comment yesterday.