Is anyone aware of the uproar caused by the Malaysian Medical Council's (MMC) decision to derecognise the medical programme offered by the Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) and a number of other universities in Ukraine? I'm writing to highlight the plight of Malaysian students (including my own brother) who are currently enrolled in the medical schools there.
The reasons given by the council are lame by any standards. I urge the MMC to publish the academic results of Malaysian students currently enrolled in Ukranian and Russian medical programmes.
Despite a few bad apples, the majority had obtained above average STPM results but were turned down due to the discriminatory quota system at our public universities and the unreasonable fees charged by our private medical universities.
In the case of my brother and his friends, they were a bunch of enthusiastic volunteer paramedics with the St John's Ambulance brigade and had gone through an intensive Russian language course before heading to CSMU. In terms of spirit and character, they clearly outshined the others who opted for medicine solely because of good grades.
The MMC's reason of Russian medical courses '... being alien to our medical fraternity, may jeopardise the safety of our patients and well-being' is unfounded. If this is true, why should the government continue to recognise medical degrees from other non-English speaking countries such as the Indonesia and Middle East?
Does the MMC have any evidence of medical negligence caused by misunderstanding of jargon? A good doctor is not judged by flowery jargon but by his technical skills and sensitivity towards patients' needs.
As for the 'possible strain' on the quality of teaching at CSMU due to increase intakes, that is a speculative statement rather than a fact. The class sizes there are smaller than the crowded classes at our public universities with each student receiving individual attention.
Students are drawn to the medical programmes in Russia and Ukraine because they are the few low-cost options of considerable quality recognised by the Malaysian government. Russian medical degrees are globally recognised and have topped WHO and Unesco rankings. Where do Malaysian universities stand in similar rankings?
Allow me also to comment on the statement by a Public Services Department officer with regards to this sorry affair. Anyone with sound mind would frown upon it. This was what was reported :
"In a statement last week, Hasniah had said that this year, the department increased the number of students to the Middle East, especially to Egypt, and reduced the number of students to Russia, in accordance with a cabinet decision last November to review the sponsorship of scholars to that country'.
Why is the government sponsoring students to countries with high illiteracy rates and shoddy education system? The Middle East is an unfit destination for medical studies as it disregards medical ethics codes by allowing judicial amputations under the Hudud law.
There is clearly a political agenda behind the MMC's decision. The government should explore more options for needy medical students and not limit their choices. Putting it bluntly, maybe our politicians are more concerned about the potential increase of the non-bumiputera doctor to bumiputera doctor ratio than the country's overall doctor to patient ratio.
