Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad announced today he had signed the ministerial order to enforce the amendments to the Medical Act 1971, with the changes coming into force on July 1.

The move will allow the Malaysian Medical Council’s list of recognised qualifications to now cover all the foreign universities that were involved in the production of parallel pathway specialists.

In a Facebook post, Dzulkefly said the order will now be submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for gazetting.

“God willing, the amendments will come into force on July 1,” he said.

Dzulkefly said this is not just a matter of amending the law, but also improving the future of healthcare in Malaysia.

“With this amendment, the two routes to become specialists – namely the parallel pathway and the master’s programme – can be implemented in a more organised manner, with transparency in accordance with the existing laws,” he said.

Senator RA Lingeshwaran, a vocal proponent of the reform, hailed the minister for following through on his pledge to resolve the issue.

“This is a victory for the hundreds of specialists who have been unable to be listed in the NSR because of bureaucracy.

“This will shorten the waiting time in hospitals to see specialists,” he told FMT.

The Medical (Amendment) Bill 2024 was passed last July after mounting pressure from professional groups and MPs.

The amendments followed the controversy over the MMC’s refusal to recognise certain parallel pathway programmes, such as the cardiothoracic surgery qualification from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, despite a shortage of such specialists in government hospitals.