I WAS shocked by the alarm sounded by Malaysian Medical Association president Datuk Dr N.K.S. Tharmaseelan on the impending saturation point of medical doctors in Malaysia.
It is amazing that there are 40 public and private colleges and universities in Malaysia and 375 worldwide where Malaysians can study medicine. Thousands are being churned out every year.
If the government doesn't move to regulate this number, we may reach the embarrassing state of having more doctors than patients in hospitals.
Remember what they used to say: "if you throw a stone, it is bound to fall on a lawyer's head!" Well, it could soon fall on a doctor as well, I guess.
Please don't get me wrong. I have many relatives who are doctors and I am proud of almost all of them, be they housemen, medical officers or specialists. My point of contention is not with the students who enrol to study medicine but with the policy in allowing candidates with average results to enrol in critical courses, as pointed out by MMA.
It is sad that there are thousands of nurses and physiotherapists who are unemployed.
Many universities and colleges churn out graduates without any regard to demand. There seems to be no unit that coordinates demand and supply in Malaysia.
A case in point are the teacher training colleges. Henceforth, only the top 30 per cent of the trainees would be absorbed by the government. The rest would have to fend for themselves.
I see a crisis of sorts looming on the horizon. If the authorities don't take steps to reduce the intake of certain popular courses, we may, in the long run, have graduates working as drivers and bus conductors, like in India.
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