Press Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on 4th June, 2017


Housemanship training issue: Jayaindran should withdraw his claim or prove with facts that
local medical graduates only have to wait an average of 3 months for posting
The oversupply of doctors and the long wait for housemanship training have been two problems that have been raised for sometime. However, the Health Ministry has not been able to come out with effective short term and long term solution to resolve these problems.

A few days ago, in response to concerns raised by Malaysian Medical Association on the plight of fresh medical graduates who have to wait long to get posting for housemanship, Deputy Health director-general Datuk Dr S. Jeyaindran said that the Health Ministry can absorb up to 5,300 new housemen every year for its facilities nationwide and therefore, the situation is “manageable”.

“Some 4,300 doctors graduate from local medical schools while the rest are from abroad. The situation is not that bad and we still have places for them,” he said.

He further said that those who graduated from local universities only need to wait an average of three months for their posting and only those who graduate from foreign universities have to wait longer.

However, Dr Jayaindran’s claim has been rebuked by at least two medical graduates.

According to a Free Malaysia Today report dated June 1, a fresh graduate has said that she had to wait 11 months for her posting.

She said there were graduates from Universiti Malaya who waited 11 months, graduates from Perdana University who waited 12 months, graduates from Universiti Sains Malaysia and the International Medical University who waited eight months, and graduates from Mahsa University who waited nine months.

“These are all facts,” she said. “Half of each university’s graduates are still waiting for a job offer.”

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/06/01/ministrys-claim-about-houseman-training-dismissed-as-nonsense/

In a letter to the Editor in the Star today, a medical graduate from subang jaya who wrote using the name disgruntled medical grad has also disputed Jayaindran’s claim that medical graduates of local universities only need to wait an average of three months for their housemanship training.

This graduate described the claim made by Deputy Health director-general Datuk Dr S. Jeyaindran rather far-fetched, to say the least.

His/her letter said “A few friends of mine who graduated in October 2016 from Universiti Malaya, the top public university in the country, began their housemanship just last week”.

http://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2017/06/02/practising-medicine-isnt-like-riding-a-bicycle-after-many-years/

So how did Jayaindran make the claim that local graduates only need to wait an average of three months when the fact is not so?

How could we expect the Health Ministry to resolve this serious problem faced by the medical graduates when even the deputy director general could be so wrong in his claim?

Jayaindran should withdraw his claim or prove with facts that local medical graduates only have to wait an average of three months for their housemanship posting.

Why do we have a situation of over supply of doctors? Who will accept responsibility that we just should not have allowed the mushrooming of medical colleges?

I warned in my speech in Parliament some 10 years ago that if uncontrolled in the approving of new medical colleges and the ensuing production of doctors a situation of over supply will happen.

The Health Ministry said I was out of tune and we need many more doctors. Statistics were thrown to us to show how shallow and wrong our arguments were.

But now we are are in a "loose loose" situation. Will the oversupply be addressed? Has the Government the will power to address this issue?

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