A senior opposition leader today called on the government to set up a special cabinet committee to assist in resolving the controversy of the 128 top scorers who were denied placements in public medical faculties.

"The prime minister should set up a special cabinet task force to bring this problem to a satisfactory conclusion," DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said in a statement today.

The government, he said, should also offer scholarships from the additional RM10 billion Eighth Malaysia Plan allocation to the 99 students unable to take up medical offers in private colleges including the six who have already registered in private colleges.

In May, 128 students were denied places in public medical schools despite scoring straight A's in their STPM examinations. This prompted the students and their parents to demand that their children be offered places.

The matter appeared to be resolved when the cabinet intervened and allowed 29 in the group to enter public medical faculties or be given scholarships while 99 were offered places at private universities.

Vast fees difference

However, only six of the 99 have taken up places at the private medical colleges as the others felt uncertain about the details of the 'convertible' loans offered. The loans may be converted into scholarships should students achieve a 'first class'.

Private medical colleges charge between RM200,000 and RM300,000 in tuition fees annually for a five-year medical degree. Public universities only charge a tenth of the amount.

The lukewarm response of some of the 99 students raised the ire of Deputy Higher Education Minister Fu Ah Kiow when he showed his displeasure in a press report last Tuesday .

Fu, said Lim, did not understand the hardships faced by parents and students.

"He has shown that he does not understand the dilemmas and the agonies of the top scorers and their parents in deciding whether to take up the offer of medical places in the private colleges.

"Particularly when the government is so cryptic about the terms and conditions for the conversion of the student's study loans into scholarships," Lim said.

The opposition leader called on all parties to unite in urging the cabinet to resolve the matter.