An excerpt from a letter in the NST,

It is common knowledge that a private medical degree locally costs more than RM250,000 in fees alone. That figure will also be the same for the public universities. The only difference is that those in the public universities can get an almost 90 per cent subsidy as students pay less than RM20,000 in fees. I think, with such heavy subsidies, it is fair that graduates from public medical schools should be bonded to serve the public for up to 10 years. Those who fail to serve should be made to pay the amount of public money spent to educate them.

Medical graduates who were on full government scholarships, are required to do compulsory service for a certain number of years. Sadly, this rule has not been consistently observed and many are allowed to breach this understanding. There has been many cases where doctors are allowed to leave for private practice despite not fulfilling the years of service as stipulated in their scholarship offers. This again points to inefficient and poor management by the relevant authorities.

I agree that all local graduates should be forced to serve for a number of years in public service in addition to the compulsory service currently in place. After all, it is the public's money that were spent in educating them in local universities. Local graduates pay peanuts for their medical courses here. Because of this, many under-appreciate the actual priviledge and costs of their medical education.

Providing quality education is a gem for any medical school. Maintaining standards of education is a quality that must be defended. Diluting quality benefits no one and only serves to snub the trust that the public have entrusted in these medical institutions. It may also unfairly put local graduates at a disadvantage and draw away recognition that is due to them. Therefore, the current practice of accomodating any unhappy applicant by political force is an unwelcomed trend and should not be encouraged. Perhaps they should reapply the following year and their persistence may be a plus point that may be recognised by these universities.

Mind you, even in foreign countries, not all bright students are accepted. But those with a burning desire to study medicine would be so persistent that many reapply several times before being accepted to study medicine. In Malaysia, we are so pampered into falsely believing that entering university is a right. Even politicians fail to recognise that it should be the university that should have the final say as to whether a student is accepted or otherwise.

Having said that, the entrance into universities has to be more transparent. There has to be clear guidelines as to how applications are processed and the criteria for a successful candidate. Disguising favouritism practices in the name of meritocracy only fans the flames of distrust and anger. Preuniversity entrance examinations have to be standardised. If the Government should insist on the matriculation programme, then all Malaysians should have an opportunity to choose regardless of race.

For Malaysia to progress, there has to be changes to the current system in place. Perhaps removing the subsidisation of medical education may help sieve the genuinely interested from the pretenders. Making financial sacrifices is certainly a strong motivating force to excel. Perhaps this is the missing link.