SIBU: The Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) has been urged to reform its regulations to "keep up with the times".
Dr Wong Chya Wei, who is the Malaysia Medical Association (MMA)'s Sibu division treasurer, said this was to allow for more qualified medical specialists such as neurosurgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons to practise in the country.
"We are not saying that MMC being a regulatory body is not doing a good job. I think MMC is doing a good job but a lot of its rules and regulations need to be revised and revamped in order to keep up with the times," said Dr Wong.
He also said that the Malaysian Medical Act 1971 also needed to be revised.
Dr Wong was commenting on the case of neurosurgeon, Dr Lu Yeow Yuen, who had his application to be registered on the National Specialist Register rejected by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) despite Dr Lu claiming to have a recognised qualification under Section 14B (c) of the Medical Act 1971 as he had passed exams under the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, FRCS (Ire).
Dr Lu is currently pursuing legal action and has been granted leave for judicial review proceedings against MMC and the Registrar of Medical Practitioners.
Dr Wong urged MMC to reevaluate its regulations that do not recognise the qualification of qualified specialists.
"The country is already facing a shortage of these medical specialists, thus a revision of the system would help in solving this issue.
"Sarawak General Hospital has 10 neurosurgeons, Hospital Sibu (two), and Hospital Miri (two).
"As for the private sector, there is one in Borneo Medical Centre, Kuching and another one in Borneo Medical Centre in Miri. To cover the whole of Sarawak state, we have to rely on these few neurosurgeons. In Peninsular Malaysia, the situation is a bit better but neurosurgeons are still in great demand," he said.
Dr Wong, who is Dudong SUPP vice chairman, was speaking at a press conference in conjunction with Dudong SUPP Mobile Service2U on Sunday (April 7).
Meanwhile, Dudong SUPP chairman, Wong Ching Yong concurred with Dr Wong that the Malaysian Medical Act 1971 was outdated.
"Many doctors had told me about their frustrations and unhappiness that the Medical Act 1971 is outdated and must be amended so that the MMC president can be democratically elected by its members to protect the professional interests and views of doctors.
"Only then can the elected president of MMC be independent and brave enough to voice out the professional opinion of doctors who are members of MMC," he said.
