PUTRAJAYA, May 29 — The Specialisation Degree Training Programme or "Parallel Pathway” requires a few legal amendments before any further steps are made, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil today.

He said the matter will be discussed in the Cabinet meeting next week.

"The education minister has given some feedback, and the Attorney General’s Chambers has given some views in terms of legislation.

"The Cabinet has been informed that there needs to be some amendments to the existing laws. This will be brought to the Cabinet meeting next week.

"It has not been decided yet, but there will be an update, and the intended paper will be issued next week,” he told reporters during a press conference at his ministry, here.

Fahmi, however, did not specify which law needed to be amended.

On Monday, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir said the government gave its assurance that the Parallel Pathway issue will be resolved promptly, and that a proposed solution framework has been submitted to the Attorney General’s Chambers for evaluation.

He said that discussions with the Ministry of Health were held recently to find a solution for certain legalities, in addition to issues related to the recognition of medical programmes, offered in universities.

The Parallel Pathway issue gained attention when the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) suggested that Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) accept non-Bumiputera medical officers who wish to undergo specialised training in the cardiothoracic field, just like how the institution accepts international students.

This comes after the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) rejected the applications of four cardiothoracic surgeons to be listed in the National Specialist Register due to their Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in Cardiothoracic Surgery (FRCS Ed) qualification not being recognised.