A memorandum was submitted to the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) urging it to revoke its de-recognition of medical degrees from the Ukaraine-based Crimea State Medical University (CSMU).

The memorandum was submitted to the MMC office at the Health Ministry in Putrajaya by a 30-odd delegation led by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

"We protest MMC's sudden de-recognition of the medical degrees. This is not fair play, equal opportunity and justice for all," Lim told reporters.

Health Ministry deputy director Dr Abdul Gani Mohd Din received the memorandum but declined to comment, beyond saying that he would submit the document to MMC president Dr Ismail Marican.

Also present were DAP MPs M Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat), Chong Eng (Bukit Mertajam), Fong Po Kuan (Batu Gajah) as well as Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia pro tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar.

In the memorandum, Lim said the sudden withdrawal of recognition had deeply distressed Malaysian parents who viewed such actions as a breach of trust.

"Bearing in mind that 22% of CSMU students are Chinese, 22% Malays and the remainder Indians. This is truly a Malaysian problem, and not particular to any community," he added.

He also questioned the statement by Deputy Health Minister Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad that amongst the reasons for the de-recognition include the sudden rise in the number of Malaysian students from 53 in 2001 to 1,366 this May.

"He (Abdul Latiff) claimed that this caused the desired lecturer-to-student ratio of 1:4 to deteriorate to 1:8. But what about local universities which also have a 1:8 lecturer-student ratio?" he asked.

'No-objection letters'

He also rebutted Abdul Latiff's claim that Arts-stream students who failed their SPM examination were among those accepted by the university.

"CSMU only accepted qualified students as determined by the Higher Education Ministry in the form of 'no-objection' letters. How did these students obtain the letters?"he asked.

Lim also claimed that the 'violent and extreme ranting' of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz against Kulasegaran could have been an attempt to distract attention from the government's failure to match logic and factual argument.

The withdrawal of recognition by the MMC has affected about 1,000 Malaysian students who are currently studying at the university.

The issue, which was hotly debated in Parliament on Tuesday, also led to the three-month suspension of MIC secretary-general and Deputy Minister For Natural Resources and Environment S Sothinathan.