KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Minister will present to the cabinet a way to overcome the problem of graduates from a programme who are not listed in the National Specialist Register (NSR).
Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told the Dewan Negara he was aware of the Malaysian Medical Council's (MMC) refusal to recognise qualifications from certain colleges, which has caused controversy.
"I have engaged with the Attorney-General's Chambers and, after considering the conflicting perspectives, I have identified a solution that will be promptly presented in a cabinet paper.
"However, I am unable to disclose specific details at this time as I must first propose it to the cabinet for discussion and approval," he said.
He was responding to a question from Senator Dr R.A. Lingeswaran yesterday, who referred to a MMC statement on March 25 that it had never recognised the Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh cardiothoracic programme.
Lingeswaran asked whether the statement by MMC president Datuk Dr Radzi Abu Hassan, who is also the Health Ministry director-general, was accurate.
He pointed out that there are 88 cardiothoracic surgeons on the specialist register, many of whom had obtained qualifications from the royal college.
Dr Dzulkefly said the solution he envisioned is comprehensive and conclusive.
"Most importantly, graduates from the parallel pathway programme will be provided with the facilities and opportunities to eventually obtain recognition as specialists in the NSR," he said.
A member of parliament had previously urged the MMC and ministry to address the confusion over the recognition and registration of cardiothoracic surgeons, who graduated from the parallel pathway programme.
Dr Kelvin Yii said the programme, which started in 2016, had produced 32 surgeons, four of whom have completed training.
Applications by the four to become full surgeons, however, were rejected by the MMC.