One of the strange things regarding the medical profession in Malaysia is the way foreign training is appreciated.

Years ago, we kissed the ground of those who trained abroad walked on (or rather those who passed their exams abroad, who knows about training per se). Then about a decade ago, the pendulum swung. With nationalistic fervour, we deemed foreign-trained doctors as not good enough and by a weird coincidence, we were producing our own specialists via the local Masters programme.

Those who obtained foreign specialist qualifications were punished by having an 18-month 'assessment' period. It's only six months if one was from the local Masters programme. This is regardless of how many years of training one has had before the said exam.

Now, the pendulum swings again. Yesterday, the government said it is going to fast-track the promotion of all foreign-based Malaysian specialist doctors from the U41 to the U48 pay scale as long as they have passed all their relevant exams. While that is okay by me, what about the local specialists who have been in Malaysia all their lives?

Some of them have been specialists for more than three years on the U41 scale. Maybe they should migrate then apply for promotion from abroad, eh?