Parents of students in the University Malaya Sabah (UMS) Medical School have expressed grave concerns about the quality of lecturers and teaching being provided to the extent that UMS is being referred to as “University Myanmar Sabah” because of the large number of lecturers from Myanmar with questionable qualifications to fill up the acute shortage of lecturers for the Medical School.
This is one complaint that I have received:
Recently, there has been a series of news reports quoting both the Federal Health Minister Datuk Chua Soi Lek and the Director General Datuk Dr Ismail Merican, lamenting over the questionable quality of some of our doctors. (Sin Chew Daily 7.8 2007 p 5 and 10.8.2007)
This is the same concern that many parents of the UMS Medical School students and lecturers now have with the presence of a large number of Myanmar lecturers, whose qualifications are said to be rather questionable.
The following is a recent conversation with a concerned lecturer of the University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Medical School who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Q: Currently, how many lecturers are there in the UMS Medical Faculty, and how many of them are foreigners?
A: There are around 41 lecturers and 2 medical officers. Out of 41 lecturers, there are 19 Burmeses, 4 Indian nationals, 1 Iraqi and 1 Indonesian Chinese. Two medical officers are also Burmeses.
Q: Is it true that some of the lecturers are not qualified or whose qualifications are doubtful and not recognized by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC)?
A: The University has the right to employ any expatriates to be their lecturers regardless of their qualification if the university is short of people with the required expertise. Their qualifications might be doubtful, but then with the request of the university, ‘special consideration’ is granted by MMC. Malaysian system is very ‘interesting’. If you are a foreigner and your degree is not recognised by MMC or JPA, you can still be employed and recognised as a specialist by the Ministry of Health (MoH) or any university as a contract employee.
Unfortunately if you are Malaysian but your degree is not recognised by MMC or JPA, you absolutely have no chance to be employed as a specialist by the MOH or any of the local university.
Normally for any expatriate to be employed by MOH or any university, they must have first obtained/granted clearance from JPA first. Once they have the JPA clearance, they could then apply for the work permit in their home country prior to coming to Malaysia.
However, these expatriates can get employed directly under UMS as a ‘temporary staff’ while waiting for JPA clearance. Once these expatriates have their JPA clearance, they can then have their temporary status convert to a full three year contract.
There is a case of a “specialist” from Myanmar who came to UMS as a ‘temporary staff’ six months ago. He was recently discovered to have committed fraud by submitting false documents in his application to UMS. This inevitably gives rise to a series of questions like:
- How could someone with false documents get employed by UMS as a ‘temporary staff’ and whether UMS made an effort to conduct a background check on the applicant before they hire someone?
- Does UMS have a vetting committee before they employ someone? How could someone with a false document could bypass JPA and start teaching our medical students? How could someone not registered with MMC be teaching our next generation of hope?
- Most of the Burmese doctors do not even speak proper English.
Q: Is it true that the clinical facilities at the Faculty are also very much lacking.
A: School of Medicine in UMS is lacking both facilities and teaching manpower. About the facilities, we are currently allocated with a very small ‘teaching space’ in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Kota Kinabalu. As we all know, QEH is a small and congested hospital with intensive admission. The patients are sleeping along the pathway and nurses station. There is really not much room for teaching.
The UMS Medical School has a small, temporary clinical year teaching site just opposite the QEH car park. But the State Health Director has given her ultimatum of taking it back at the end of 2007. Basically the UMS Medical School will be losing its only teaching site in QEH at the end of this year. This is rather sad indeed in view of the fact that the Medical School has spent RM1 million on this site for the past 2 years and it is going to be flushed down the drain soon.
The Medical School is currently short of manpower for a few reasons:
1. The Ministry of Health is not deploying any experienced doctor to any university while young doctors cannot leave MOH, thus leaving most of the MOH pensioners applying for the job.
2. Lack of cooperation from the State Health Department. It takes many months for State Health Department to give their blessing for any UMS staff to work in QEH. There are just too many red tapes and too much paperwork. Apparently the MoU between MOH and UMS does not exist. Unlike in other universities (UIA, UPM and others), they are very good smart partnership.
3. There is incompetent projection from Medical School. Many QEH doctors are reluctant to join UMS because of incompetent projection from the Medical School. First, no doctor is currently allowed to start their clinical work in the QEH, many QEH doctors are also wondering why. Second, one year ago, there was one UMS staff working in HQE. Unfortunately, one of staffs from HQE in the same department committed medical negligence. However, that staff from QEH did not face any disciplinary action. Instead, the innocent staff from UMS was sacked from HQE without any explanation. The QEH staffs are very reluctant to join UMS because they are afraid that they may be a victim for their fellow colleague’s mistake. The UMS Medical School did nothing to fight for their poor staff. Hence, why do you think anyone in his or her right frame of mind would want to join UMS? Would you join a company which does not give you any welfare?
4. Sabah is too far from West Malaysia and most of the West Malaysian are reluctant to come here.
Q: How many students are there in the Faculty now, and when is the graduation for the first batch of students?
A: There are 220 students. First batch is 30 students who will be graduating next year.
Q: How would you describe the situation in the faculty and who is responsible?
A: Well, the boat is fast sinking but the Boss continues to live in his own fantasy. In as far as I’m concerned no one else except for the Dean of the Medical School who is Prof Dr Osman Ali who should be blamed for all the mess in the Medical School.