Khairy said many universities which offer such programmes have also acknowledged that it should not be the only route for training specialists.

“We need 16,000 to 17,000 specialists by next year and 20,000 by 2030,” he said in an episode of the “Keluar Sekejap” podcast,

“Therefore, the government has established what is known as the parallel pathway programme, a second route to train medical specialists.”

He said the main goal is to ensure that there are enough specialists to meet the healthcare needs of the people.

The Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) is embroiled in a dispute with parallel pathway specialists and medical genetics graduates over recognising their qualifications for inclusion under the National Specialists Register (NSR).

Four cardiothoracic surgeons with qualifications from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and six graduates from Universiti Sains Malaysia have initiated legal action against MMC over the dispute.

On Saturday, higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir called for MMC and specialists to put aside their differences over the issue of recognition of their qualifications.

Zambry, who initiated a multi-agency discussion to resolve the imbroglio, said both sides must come together for the sake of the nation’s “severely stressed” healthcare system.

Meanwhile, Khairy said it is important for the matter to be brought to the Cabinet for immediate discussion to address the training of specialists.

He stressed the need for both training tracks to coexist and for the national curriculum to be further strengthened and refined, ensuring high-quality training whether through the parallel pathway programme or traditional university programmes.

“Find a win-win solution where both pathways can coexist, and training places are guaranteed,” he said. “Because sometimes when we expand such programmes, there aren’t enough training places or trainers to train the trainees.”