Health Ministry to table Medical Act amendment at upcoming Parliament session

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is set to present the amendment to the Medical Act (Act 50) at the upcoming Parliament session.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad stated that the amendment draft is currently undergoing a final review by the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).

“We have had discussions with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC), Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), and the Malaysian Medical Academy (AMM), among others. The Health Ministry’s Legal Advisory Division and Medicine Development Division are fine-tuning the final details,” he said after the launch of myBPR@CKAPS on Thursday (June 20).

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Dzulkefly indicated that once the final draft is summarised, it will be prepared for tabling and debate at the 15th Parliamentary session, the dates of which are yet to be decided upon.

He will first submit a memorandum to the Cabinet after the AGC returns the reviewed bill draft.

The Second Meeting of the Third Session of the 15th Parliament is scheduled to last 15 days, from June 24 to July 18.

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Dzulkefly previously said that the amendments aim to address the registration of medical doctors with specialist qualifications through the parallel pathway and to improve the process for recognition and registration of medical specialists.

The parallel pathway became an issue when the MMA urged Universiti Teknologi MARA to permit non-Bumiputera medical officers to undertake specialised cardiothoracic training, which is also extended to international students.

This appeal follows the MMC’s decision not to list four cardiothoracic surgeons in the National Specialist Register, citing that their Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in Cardiothoracic Surgery (FRCS Ed) was not recognised.