KUALA LUMPUR: Universiti Malaya (UM) is in the process of obtaining the accreditation certification to offer a cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme soon.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the move was part of the effort and commitment by the government to achieve a comprehensive resolution surrounding the issue of the lack of such specialists in the country.
"Apart from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) which is currently running the Masters of Science in Surgery (Cardiothoracic) programme, other universities including UM are in the process of obtaining the required accreditation for the course before offering it in the soonest time possible," he said in a statement today.
Zambry also reiterated that the recognition of cardiothoracic students and the proposal to open UiTM to non-Bumiputeras were two different matters.
He added that while there were attempts by certain quarters to exploit the situation, the main issue was the lack of verification and recognition from the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) for the students.
"The main issue arising regarding the turmoil in the parallel pathway programme for cardiothoracic surgery is the issue of recognising the parallel pathway specialist training implemented by the Health Ministry.
"Meanwhile, the second issue is the registration of medical officers who have completed the parallel pathway specialist training in the National Specialist Register (NSR) under MMC."
Zambry also said that a comprehensive proposal paper has been prepared and will be presented by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad on June 5.
Earlier, Communications Ministry Fahmi Fadzil said several issues regarding the parallel pathway programme, including proposals for several legislation amendments by the Attorney-General's Chambers, were presented to the cabinet.
He said the proposal paper for any legislation amendment would also be presented to the cabinet next week.
Zambry, on Monday, had said the government was looking at holistic solutions to address the issue, including amending the Medical Act 1971.
