Fahmi said amendments would be tabled during the upcoming parliamentary session once a joint memorandum is submitted by the health ministry and the higher education ministry within “a week or two”.

“If everything goes smoothly, it will be brought to Parliament in the upcoming session or thereafter,” he told a press conference.

Fahmi said the amendments were expected to resolve the overlapping of powers between the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC).

“The amendments to be presented later are intended to resolve this issue,” he said.

Last Wednesday, Fahmi said the Cabinet was informed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) that some amendments to the law were needed to solve issues concerning the parallel pathway programme.

When asked which specific laws the government plans to amend, Fahmi said the details had yet to be decided.

Previously, higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said amendments to the Medical Act would be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat meeting.

Zambry said the amendments had been mooted by the health ministry, following a discussion with the AGC.

Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad had said the ministry would stand by its decision to amend the Medical Act to bridge the gap between the parallel pathway programme and the local medical degree programme.

The MMC is currently involved in a controversy with specialists from the parallel pathway programme and graduates in medical genetics over the recognition of their qualifications for inclusion in the National Specialist Register.

In response to the ongoing dispute, four cardiothoracic surgeons who qualified from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, alongside six graduates from Universiti Sains Malaysia, have filed a lawsuit against the MMC.

Separately, Fahmi announced that the Cabinet had agreed to reuse the National Day celebration logo from 2023 for this year’s event, with the theme “Malaysia Madani Jiwa Merdeka”.