Parallel pathway: AGC advised govt to amend laws, Fahmi says

The Attorney-General’s Chambers has advised the government to amend a few laws concerning Universiti Teknologi Mara’s (UiTM) cardiothoracic surgery parallel pathway programme.

In his weekly post-cabinet meeting press conference, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil however did not elaborate on which set of laws will be amended as the administration will have another meeting next week to discuss the issue.

“This is the issue that will be discussed next week, involving amendments to several acts, but the cabinet has yet to be informed on the specific act or acts involved.

“So we will wait for the presentation of that paper next week,” he said.

He also clarified that the parallel pathways programme issue involves overlapping between the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) and the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC).

“Doctors obtain their qualifications through MMC, while others go through MQA,” he added.

Clarification

Fahmi further stated that Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir has clarified the misunderstanding surrounding the decision related to the programme in UiTM.

He added that Zambry explained that the previous agreement was not to open a full medical degree programme at UiTM, but rather to allow for a hospital housemanship programme.

Previously, the government said it was working swiftly to resolve the parallel pathway controversy over medical degree programmes.

Zambry said that a proposed framework to address the issue has been submitted to the AG for review.

Zambry stated his ministry recently met with the Health Ministry to tackle legal questions as well as concerns around the accreditation of university medical courses caught up in the parallel pathway dispute.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad previously affirmed the government’s intention to amend the Medical Act 1971 to reconcile differences between the parallel pathway programme and traditional local medical degrees.

At the centre of the dispute is whether the MMC will recognise qualifications from the parallel pathway and genetic medicine graduates for inclusion in the National Specialist Register.

The situation reached a tipping point when four cardiothoracic surgeons credentialed by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, along with six Universiti Sains Malaysia graduates, filed a lawsuit challenging the MMC over the credential recognition issue.

The parallel pathway conflict shows no signs of abating as stakeholders await proposed amendments to potentially bridge the qualifications gap.

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