KUALA LUMPUR – The cabinet meeting this Wednesday will discuss the issue of the Parallel Pathway specialist degree training for doctors, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar said this after he was asked whether the cabinet had decided on a solution to resolve the issue.
“We will discuss it in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday,” he told reporters briefly after attending the Madani Postnormal Times Exhibition here today.
Recently, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) appealed to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to prioritise public health by temporarily opening its cardiothoracic postgraduate programme to non-Bumiputera students amid a shortage of specialists in the field.
MMA president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz argued that if UiTM could admit international students, it should also allow Malaysians to further their studies there, especially to meet the urgent need for such specialists.
This appeal sparked dissatisfaction among various groups, including UiTM alumni and its student representative council, which launched a campaign urging students to wear black on May 16 in protest.
UiTM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Shahrin Sahib reiterated that the university’s current admission policy remained unchanged, with no discussions in the senate or executive committee to open admissions to non-Bumiputera students.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir confirmed that the issue had not been discussed at any ministry or cabinet meetings, saying that it was being politicised by certain parties attempting to disrupt UiTM’s policies and objectives.
However, former UiTM board chairman Tan Sri Ibrahim Abu Shah recently told Scoop that exceptions could be made for the admission of non-Bumiputera students as it would only be temporary and was specifically related to the issue of seven medical officers pursuing advanced degree training in cardiothoracic surgery. – May 26, 2024