Health Minister S Subramaniam today indicated that the moratorium on the launch of new medical courses in local universities will be extended beyond April next year to five more years because of increases in the number of housemen in local hospitals.
In a written response to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok’s question in Parliament, Subramaniam said his ministry was working with the Education Ministry in preparing a Cabinet memorandum seeking the extension.

In addition, he said, the two ministries were proposing to tighten qualifications for entry into existing medical programmes. The government imposed the current moratorium in May 2011, giving as its reason a “drastic increase” in the number of medical graduates. Currently, according to the Health Ministry, the ratio of housemen to patients is 1:4, compared to 10:14 in 2011.

It is said that lack of exposure to patients would produce doctors who would be less prepared for the medical profession. The intake of housemen is done every two months, and the waiting period depends on where a student prefers to be posted.

The waiting time is longer for those who want to be posted in the Klang Valley than for those who prefer other places.

Source: Free Malaysia Today