Reply from MOH
posted in - Education, - Vagus |This response to my earlier letter was published in The Star today:
We are pleased to inform you that, contrary to the claims made by the writer, letters on ‘statement of needs’ continue to be provided for doctors planning to pursue their specialty training in the US.
The main problem, as noted by the writer, is that the majority of these doctors (including his good self) have opted not to return to serve in Malaysia for various reasons, which is contrary to the ground that the ‘statement of needs’ was issued because there is a dire need for professionals in this area of specialties in the country.
To facilitate the processing of the document requested, the doctors intending to be trained in the US are required to furnish their home address, contact number, information on their qualifications and working experience in Malaysia.
In addition, they are also required to provide a written assurance or a statutory declaration that they will return to Malaysia and report to the ministry on completion of their training programme.
The ministry is well aware of the significant contribution that these US-trained specialists can make to the advancement of the specialties in Malaysia.
The non-return of these specialists on completion of their studies continues to be an issue that requires the sincere and concerted efforts of all the relevant stake-holders to ensure that this “brain drain” will not be to the disadvantage of the development of our specialty services.
So, it seems the official position is that the letters will continue to be issued. For those who have been previously declined, there is hope. It’s just going to be a matter of talking/appealing to the right person.
Last 5 posts by Vagus
- Swearing - July 14th, 2009
- Intensive glucose control in the ICU: How 'NICE' is 'SUGAR'? - March 25th, 2009
- Ironic - September 2nd, 2008
- US Postgrad Training: MOH no longer issuing Letter of Need? - April 30th, 2008
- Patient Privacy - December 20th, 2007
May 1st, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I hope this is strictly for those who are on their own scholarship. Those who took malaysian tax money to study there should not be given chance to have subspecialist training there until they honour their contract.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Why should those who are on their own or FaMa scholarship “provide a written assurance or a statutory declaration that they will return to Malaysia and report to the ministry on completion of their training programme”? If they finish their training and say get a golden opportunity to pursue a research career which they won’t have a chance of doing in Malaysia, why not? If they have finished their compulsory service or have no contractual obligation, I don’t see why there should be any obstruction from the MOH.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Why the US hospital need this letter in the first place? Perhaps the JPA and UK hospitals should have the similar rule for those Malaysian JPA student who intend to continue training in UK.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Hmm.. I don’t think the written assurance or home address etc is even worth the paper it is written on. However it seems like a purposeful deception if the doctor in question obtained the training post based on a false pretense that the training is meant to fulfil a clinical need in Malaysia. If after the training, the doctor decides to stay in the country he or she trained in, those letters of assurance will mean nothing at all. If the doctor is Malaysian government sponsored, then it is a different story: potentially they can have a financial guarantor who may be made liable to repay the cost of the sponsorship should the doctor defaults returning to Malaysia for service (this sponsor would preferably be someone like the parent). That should ensure that more of these trainees return.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Agreed that written assurance or home address are worth nothing because self interest always be their top priority. They will agree to any government terms as long as they can go to US. These doctors will only put thier own interest in the first place. They will do anything inculding cheating the gov / taxpayers by giving various excuses including their family. They will only compromise if they are paid the right price. Everything is about money.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:34 pm
it’s not the US hospitals that require the letter,s but rather the immigration dept here.
agree that students on scholarships should fulfil their obligations first, because the truth is, yes, some docs will probably stay here. it’s much more than about the money. life must allow for flexibility. who knows what can happen in a span of 6 years- things happen. all the while i was pretty adamant that I would return, and then i met someone and had to go marry an american
i agree too that the written assurances allow for many loopholes, that it cannot be legally binding. but at least that allows for an avenue for people to decide for themselves what’s in their best interest.
after all, malaysia still has freedom of choice, no?
May 1st, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Absolutely correct but for those who took my tax money to fullfill their dream of becoming a doctor, they lost the freedom of this choice when they put down their signature on their contract.
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:52 am
ironically, it is those who are discriminated against in terms of career advancement in malaysia, who seek training and opportunities elsewhere.
what is the problem in letting them go? the more of them go overseas, the faster our government achieves its targets (although this is a stupid target in the first place).
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 am
yea. it’s a long complicated issue i guess.
my primary reason for staying- will be hard for my angmoh non-BM speaking wife to find work as a nurse anesthetist there.
other reasons: as dragony put it. in many ways i feel offended that they want us to return for our training, but yet make us feel like 2nd class citizens because my ancestors stepped on our homeland later than their ancestors. it’s true, ironically, that i feel less like a 2nd class citizen in the USA.
Sadly enough, i do miss malaysia and home will always beckon. Who knows what might happen?
December 31st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Well, I am in the U.S. and going through the process of trying to obtain a Statement of Need for fellowship training now. I’m new to this forum but I’ll try to post my experience here in the comments.
I addressed my written assurance (in Bahasa) to the DG, and enclosed my offer letter.
That was in early November.
Never heard anything back (what’s new) so I got my mak to check on it. She drove to Putrajaya and talked to various MoH departments, I don’t think she found where my letter ended up, but she did come back with instructions from a helpful Cik Lily Suryani in the Cawangan Pembangunan Profesion Perubatan (wow she’s actually Google-able!!).
So apparently now I am supposed to re-submit through my alma mater, IMU.
I made contact with IMU, and they told me the following:
All applications must be addressed to the DG of Health and accompanied by the following documents:
a) Letter of offer stating training specialty, duration of training and amount of pay.
b) Proof of Malaysian citizenship (copy of 1st ID page of passport)
c) Declaration that the applicant will return to work in Malaysia (there is supposedly a specific format for the letter, of which I have turned up at least two versions). The letter must be notarized by a commissioner of oath or public notary.
d) Notarized declaration -personal letter (I *think* this is the same as Item c)
e) Applicant’s qualification and working experience in Malaysia (This is another specific format. No, your CV won’t do.)
Once IMU receives all the documents in Item 1, IMU will attach a covering letter to verify status as IMU alumni. IMU will then send the completed application to MoH via fax.
So I don’t know how it is for non-IMU-grads, but I am going to guess that this situation mostly applies to IMU grads.