PONTIAN: The Ministry of Health (MoH) is expected to release an official statement pertaining to the fate of graduates from seven Taiwan dental schools.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said he was aware of the issue and will issue a statement in the near future.
“This matter is being closely monitored by top leaders including the health director-general, particularly my deputy, who has held several discussions and I am confident that in the near future, I will be able to provide a clearer statement.
“Hence, just wait for my official statement,” he told reporters after officiating the Pontian district health camp programme at the Mukim Penghulu Serkat here today.
Dr Dzulkefly said this while commenting on media reports of Malaysian graduates from seven dental schools in Taiwan now facing uncertainty after the schools were reported to be removed without warning from the list in the Second Schedule of the Dental Act 2018.
In the middle of July, media reports quoted Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Dudong branch chairman Wong Ching Yong as saying that the party’s education bureau had received complaints that the schools’ graduates could no longer register as qualified dentists in the country, resulting in them unable to go for training at government dental hospitals.
The seven dental schools involved are the Taiwan University School of Medicine, National Defence School of Medicine, Yangming University School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, China Medical University, Zhongshan Medical University and Kaohsiung Medical University.
Meanwhile, also in the same month, health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah was reported to have said that basic dental qualifications from dental schools in Taiwan were never recognised under the Dental Act 1971.
Dr Noor Hisham, who is also Malaysian Dental Council (MDC) president, said basic dental qualifications from Taiwan dental schools have never been recognised under the Dental Act 1971 and therefore were never listed under Schedule 2 of the Act.
However, he added, dental graduates with unrecognised qualification (including from Taiwan dental schools) may be considered to be registered under the Dental Act 1971 if they fulfill the criteria determined by the MDC for registration, either under Section 12(3) or Section 12(9) of the same Act. – Bernama
