A Malaysian traditional medicine man posed as a surgeon for a decade, performing major operations on VIPs and foreigners including the removal of tumours and ovarian cysts, a report said today.

The New Straits Times said the man was exposed by a patient who paid a large sum to have kidney stones removed, but who later discovered the stones were still there.

"He is only a registered traditional medicine practitioner and I am shocked that he was practising modern medicine and performing surgeries. He did not even use anaesthesia," said health department director-general Ismail Merican.

Crack down

Ismail said he believed there were many illegal clinics operating nationwide and vowed to crack down on bogus medical practitioners.

A Health Ministry team carried out a raid Wednesday on the doctor's modern clinic outside the capital but he had apparently got wind of the move and had closed his doors and fled, the paper added.