This section is addressed:

• To doctors - to inform them of the standards of professional conduct and medical ethics they are expected to follow and details what action to take if they have been complained of;
• To public – to let them know what they can expect from doctors and explain what action to take if they have concerns with the way a doctor has treated or cared for them.

In medical practice, patients and society at large expect doctors to be responsible to their patient as a whole and both to his individual needs as well as the larger community. Much trust is therefore endowed upon doctors to profess their best in whatsoever circumstances. This trust is contingent on the profession maintaining the highest standards of professional practice and conduct.

Hence, underpinning those principles, the role of the Malaysian Medical Council in executing its duties is not only to discipline its members but to also protect the public, where necessary; to seek to maintain public confidence in the profession; and in its widest sense to maintain the integrity of the profession.

While the profession must adhere to the laws governing society and its practice, nevertheless it must also be self-regulating, as society at large does not posses the necessary knowledge or the experience of medical practice to make determinations on professional matters.

As such, being the custodian to the medical profession in Malaysia, the Council has the onerous responsibility of promulgating its own ethics on acceptable professional practice and behavior as well as to exercise its duty as mandated under the Medical Act 1971 to discipline members of the profession who fail to advocate the high standards expected of the profession. The primary function of the code of ethics is to protect the public from abuse by medical practitioners of their professional positions, abuse of the relationship between the practitioner and patient and disregard of personal responsibilities to patients. The ethical code also protects the interest of the profession against unfair competition from unscrupulous colleagues.

The Council in December 1986 adopted its Code of Professional Conduct , and in addition, the Council has also adopted two other booklets namely ‘Good Medical Practice’ and ‘ Confidentiality’ in January 2001 to supplement and complement the Code.

Nevertheless, in its endeavor to ensure clarity and consistency, the Council is in the process of reviewing existing codes and guidelines to adapt to current as well as future practice. To give further advice and guidance to practitioners and public alike, the Council has produced and adopted ethical guidelines on 9 specific areas namely:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Council is starkly aware that society is continually changing its norms and expectations. Whilst technological advancement is taking place at a very rapid rate, the Council humbly acknowledged that no set of published guidelines could be either exhaustive or final. However, the Council strongly believes that those principles enunciated can be applied to every change or advance and practitioners are exhorted to adhere firmly to these principles when applying new technologies and adapting to future technological advances.

The purpose of these codes and ethical guidelines is to safeguard the public, ensure propriety in professional practice and to prevent abuse of professional privileges. The members of the medical profession are expected to abide by these codes which set out minimum standards of conduct for registered persons as judged by peers in the profession. Breaches of these standards are referred to as ‘infamous conduct in a professional respect’. Breaching of these code entitles the Council to hold disciplinary proceeding against the practitioners.

What the Council can do?

Pursuant to the Medical Act 1971, the Malaysian Medical Council can only regulate its registered doctors. This is reflected in the Council statutory power to register doctors to practise in Malaysia and to either reprimand, erase a doctor from the Medical Register or suspend a doctor’s registration.

The Council will be guided by its Code of Professional Conduct, ‘Good Medical Practice’, ‘ Confidentiality’ and the various ethical guidelines. These documents have persuasive power on ethical inquiries.

What the Council cannot do?

Our powers are limited. In particular, we cannot/do NOT:

The Act is currently under review and it is envisaged that Council’s authority and jurisdiction will be enhanced.

The Medical Act 1971 and the Medical Regulations 1974 define the procedure for inquiry into complaints received by the Council that must be followed. The Council’s functions and powers are limited to the provisions determined under the statutes.

Section 29 of the Medical Act 1971 states explicitly the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Council over all persons registered under the Act whilst Regulations 23 to 33 of the Medical Regulations 1974 sets out the procedure for inquiries into complaints/information received.

Section 29 sets out five circumstances under which empowers the Council to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction over medical practitioners registered by the Council who:

(a) has been convicted in Malaysia or elsewhere of any offence punishable with imprisonment (whether in itself only or in addition to or in lieu of a fine);

(b) has been guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect;

(c) has obtained registration by fraud or misrepresentation;

(d) was not at the time of his registration entitled to be registered; or

(e) has since been removed from the register of medical practitioners maintained in any place outside Malaysia.

To ensure fairness and justice to both the complainant and the respondent practitioner, the Rules of Natural Justice will always be upheld in any inquiry.

We always consider carefully all complaints against doctors that are brought to our attention. However, before submitting to us, you may wish to discuss your concerns through local procedures,as it may be possible to resolve the issue locally. Under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998, for instance, medical facilities should have their own complaints handling procedures. Please contact respective authorities for details. If you are dissatisfied or concerned by action taken by such authorities, or for any reason you do not feel comfortable about it , you may telephone, write or e-mail us for advice.

The process of inquiry into a complaint received by the Council can be divided into three distinct levels:

• Sanctioning by the President.
• Preliminary investigation conducted by Preliminary Investigation Committees (PIC).
• Inquiries conducted by the Council itself.

The following provides a brief explanation of the process for Council’s investigation of a complaint.

Sanctioning by the President:

All complaints received are subject to initial assessment by the President. Under the provisions of Regulation 27 , the President of the Council is empowered to examine complaints and sanction it to any of the five Preliminary Investigation Committee appointed by him for preliminary inquiry.

Inquiry by the Preliminary Investigation Committee:

This second step is an investigation of a complaint or information against a doctor. Their primary role of the PIC is to investigate into a complaint sanctioned by the President and to ascertain whether there are sufficient grounds to warrant an investigation. They do not possess any punitive role. Their role is to collect evidence and recommend to the Council whether to hold an inquiry or not. Each PIC comprises of 6 members, having 2 members as a quorum appointed by the President amongst its registered doctors. ( Click here for The Current Status of Cases According to PIC).Once the complaint is received, the PIC will review all complaints carefully to see if there are issues that need to be investigated. If the PIC decide that the complaint do not need to be investigated, under Regulation 28, the PIC may summarily dismiss any complaint or information it received, if it is satisfied that:

• That the name and address of the complainant is unknown or untraceable;
• That even if the facts were true, the facts do not constitute a disciplinary matter; or,
• for reasons which must be recorded, that there is reason to doubt the truth of the complaint or information.

The Committee may require the complainant to make a statutory declaration of the facts alleged by him before the summary dismissal.

If the Committee has reason to believe that the complaint or information is probably true and involves matters related to ethical misconduct and decides to investigate, a date for an inquiry will be fixed and the complainant and the respondent doctor will be notified of the date, time and place. Your complaint letter with all its appendices will be forwarded to all parties as well as a factsheet that explains the inquiry procedures in more detail.

If the complaint proceeds to a formal hearing, you will be called to present the facts with your witness/es and all the relevant documents, if any, and to be cross examined by the respondent or his legal counsel. Both you and the respondent practitioner may be represented by a counsel. The Council will NEITHER pay any expenses incurred by you NOR your witness/s for attending the hearing.

The PIC shall hear oral evidence and receive written statements and submissions. All proceedings will be recorded verbatim and copies distributed to relevant parties subsequently. The proceedings are conducted in Bahasa Malaysia and/or English. Qualified interpreters will be made available by the Secretariat for those not conversant in these languages.

After adducing evidence, if the Committee finds no sufficient grounds to support the allegation, it may recommend to the Council that no action be taken ( Regulation 29(4)(a)) . However, if the Committee finds that the statements support the allegation, a charge will be framed and explained to the practitioner that he is at liberty to state his defence ( Regulation 29(4)(b)) . The respondent doctor may elect to enter his defence at the Committee or even at the Council level ( Regulation 29(5)) .

If the doctor elects to defend himself at the Council level, the Committee shall inform the Council to conduct an inquiry ( Regulation 29(5)).

If the practitioner after being informed of his right under ( Regulation 29(4)) elects to make his statement before the Committee, the PIC will inform the doctor and the complainant of the outcome and submit a report for consideration by Council ( Regulation 30) , which includes their recommendations as to whether the complaint should be dismissed ( Regulation 31(1)) or if it should be the subject of an inquiry by the Council ( Regulation 31(1)) .

Inquiry by the Malaysian Medical Council

At the Council level, it is mandatory for the Council to hold an inquiry, once the PIC recommends. The Council however is empowered to overturn a recommendation by the PIC not to take any further action. In consonant with its statutory responsibilities, the Council meets regularly every month to conduct inquiries into complaints against practitioners.

The Council may adduce further statement from the practitioner ( Regulation 31(3)).

If the Council finds no case has been made against the doctor, the Council shall dismiss the case ( Regulation 31(5)) . If the doctor is found guilty, the Council shall inform the practitioner of its findings and the grounds for its decision and request the doctor to make any plea in mitigation.

strong> Section 30 of the Medical Act 1971 empowers the Council to erase from the Medical Register the name of any doctor guilty of serious professional misconduct. The Council has the power to reprimand or suspend the doctor’s registration for a specified period and also suspends the order.

Appeal

Pursuant to section 31 of the Medical Act 1971, a doctor has ONE MONTH to appeal to the High Court against any decision by the Council. The Council’s decision will not take effect until either the appeal period expires or upon dismissal by the Court.

You can discuss a complaint with us at any time. If you decide to make a formal complaint, you should submit in writing the full facts of the case and your allegations clearly against practitioner(s). You need to submit as much of the following information as you can:

• The name and of address/es or place/s of practice the medical practitioner(s), preferably in full;

• Details of a full account of the events or incidents, in your view, the doctor has done wrong, with dates, if possible;

• details of any action you have taken (for instance, if you have spoken to the doctor, or made a complaint to the doctor’s employer);

• copies of any supporting document(s) or evidence in support of your complaint or information, including statutory declaration;

• Names and addresses of anyone else who witnessed the events or who could support your complaint from their own personal knowledge; and

• your name, address and contact number/s in full. (Please note that it will be difficult for us to investigate complaints if you want to remain anonymous.)

(Note – Please do NOT send original documents when submitting complaints. You are required to bring originals when called for an inquiry.)

As guidance, you may download the complaint form and use it to forward your complaint.

All complaint or information should be addressed to:

The President,

Malaysian Medical Council,

Level 2, Block E-1,

Federal Government Administrative Complex,

62518 PUTRAJAYA.

For further information, the public are advised to contact the Secretary of the Malaysian Medical Council at the above-mentioned address or through:

Telephone    :   603 - 26947920

Fax                 :    603 - 26938569

Email             :   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

When deciding, the Council exercises its professional judgment and must be satisfied that the proposed action is sufficient to protect patients and the public interest.Please click here to view our Previous Decisions

If you are subject to investigation or action by the Council, you are advised to contact your medical defence organisation straight away. The defence organisations know our procedures well and are a good source of advice. They can offer you legal support if you need it.

Alternatively, you can get your own legal advice, at your own expense. Legal aid is not available to doctors being investigated under our procedures. You cannot claim costs from the other parties involved.

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