KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) wants the position of the Malaysian Medical Council president to be determined though an election rather than appointment.
MMA president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said this would boost transparency and accountability in the council.
"Likewise, at least 80 per cent of MMC council members should be elected representatives.
"Also, MMC's voting system, which still uses postal ballots, is outdated and should be simplified through digitalisation, in line with the Health Ministry's digital health transformation agenda.
"The inconvenience of casting ballots is discouraging members from voting, with only 10 per cent of the close to 70,000 registered medical practitioners voting when there elections."
Meanwhile, Dr Azizan commended the stand taken by the health minister to address issues surrounding parallel pathway recognition for medical specialists.
However, the association said this was an opportune moment to delve deeper into healthcare reforms, particularly in the MMC.
"While we await the proposed amendments to the Medical Act 1971 (Act 50) to address the issue, it would be timely for the health minister to review the Medical Act to reform the healthcare system, starting with reforms to the MMC."