By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 16: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has called for Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) to temporarily open its Cardiothoracic Surgery Masters Programme to non-Bumiputera applicants.
This move, he suggests, should be in place until the programme is fully developed at University Malaya (UM).
In a statement today, Dr Yii emphasszed the urgency of this measure to address the country’s dire need for cardiothoracic surgeons and to ensure quality care for patients.
He stressed that this proposal is not an attempt to challenge the special position or constitutional rights outlined in the Federal Constitution.
“Based on current rate from Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the country has less than 15 per cent of the needed total of cardiothoracic surgeons by 2030, and this is very alarming.
“That is why the lack of cardiothoracic specialist doctors is now at a very worrying stage. This problem has affected the country’s health care system and quality of service to patients and may get more serious if not properly addressed.
“Many have to wait six months to a year to get heart surgery. Worse, some even died while awaiting treatment,” he said.
Dr Yii said he strongly believe the conversation on the matter should be on solutions and avenues to address it.
He said it includes maximising the abilities of all local institutions to produce the needed specialist, including incorporating the specialist parallel programs to complement the existing numbers of specialist in our country.
Meanwhile, according to a report from the website CodeBlue on May 9, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged UiTM to temporarily open admissions to its cardiothoracic surgery postgraduate programme to non-Bumiputeras in the national interest. — DayakDaily
