Must pass SPM Bahasa for govt job

Putra Jaya: Those applying for government jobs in the country must pass SPM Bahasa Malaysia without exception from now on, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced.He also said the Federal Government will be soon amend the law to compel trainee doctors to undergo an extra two-year housemanship programme.

"The Cabinet also requested and suggested that the Medical Act 1971 be amended to include the clause to make the two-year training after housemanship mandatory, and to insert a prerequisite to pass BM," he told a news conference here.

"Therefore, the Cabinet has decided to revoke the relaxation given to trainee doctors who are doing their housemanship; and we have also decided to retain the prerequisite to pass BM for all government position intakes in the country," he added.

Currently, medical graduates who have completed their housemanship programme can choose to either serve two years as medical officers, or resign.

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Controversy over a must-pass in SPM BM for doctors arose following uproar from pro-Bumiputera groups over a government statement exempting certain trainee doctors who had studied abroad seeking work here on a contract basis. Housemen seeking permanent positions in the civil service are already currently required to pass the BM paper in SPM.

At a separate news conference earlier, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam said the government is reversing the BM waiver and will enable medical graduates training here now to take the SPM examination for the subject and pass before being appointed medical officers.

Both Ahmad Zahid and Dr Subramaniam said those who intend to take the BM paper for SPM would also not be required to sit for any other subject.

He said the Education Ministry will assist the Health Ministry in enabling medical graduates to take only the SPM Bahasa Melayu paper without having to sit for other subjects. The appointments of contract medical officers, he said, first came about in 2016 when there was an oversupply of medical graduates.

During the period, there was a small group of Malaysian medical graduates who did not possess the Bahasa Melayu minimum requirement.

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"These are children of diplomats who had followed their parents abroad and pursued their medical degrees abroad. Their education was different from ours and they didn't take Bahasa Melayu," he added.

"From the 4,500 contract appointments since 2016, only 23 medical graduates faced such a situation," he said.

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