Alumni federation to apply for writ of mandamus
SIBU: SUPP Education Bureau has urged parents whose children are undergraduates at seven dental colleges of Taiwan to liaise with the Federation of Alumni Associations of Taiwan Universities, Malaysia (FAATUM) to seek legal opinion.
The aim is to apply for a writ of mandamus to compel the Malaysian Dental Council (MDC) to gazette the recognition of the dental schools which were already completed in 1995/1996.
The bureau also wanted FAATUM to immediately contact the dental schools to obtain whatever minutes, photographs and/or memorandum, if any, pertaining to the visit of official Malaysian representatives in 1995.
The affected schools are Taiwan University School of Medicine, National Defense School of Medicine, Yangming University School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, China Medical University, Zhongshan Medical University, and Kaohsiung Medical University.
The bureau, on July 17, said the unannounced removal of all these dental schools by the MDC from Schedule 2 of the Dental Act 2018, has left not only those who have just graduated but also existing students in the lurch.
As a result of this non-recognition by MDC, dental graduates from Taiwan can neither intern in government hospitals/clinics nor (subsequently) commence private practice.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the bureau chairman, Ding Kuong Hiing, gathered that in 1996 (as evidenced by various artifacts, papers and documents) the seven dental schools in Taiwan were recognised by the Malaysian government.
Ding pointed out that Chinese newspapers reported on February 14, 1996 that a group from FAATUM Malaysia met the then Health Minister, Chua Jui Meng, who disclosed that the ministry had recognised the dental schools and eight medical schools in Taiwan.
It was also reported that the then director-general of health, Tan Sri Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, from July 7 to 22, 1995, visited eight medical and seven dental schools in Taiwan to assess and accredit them.
The Star on July 27, 1998 reported that according to Chua, the government had recognised and gazetted the dental degrees issued by the seven Taiwanese universities.
Ding said the then parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Education Datuk Mahadzir Mohd Khir, on November 16, 2000, further confirmed that the Education Ministry had already recognised the medical, dentistry and pharmacy degrees from Taiwan in his reply at a parliamentary debate to a query from Chong Eng (DAP Bukit Mertajam).
Dudong SUPP chairman, Wong Ching Yong said the announcement by Director-General of Health Datuk Noor Hisham’s on July 18, 2019 as “in utter ignorance of the historical facts”.
