The fate of the 2015 batch from Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine (PUGSOM) is now left in a lurch after US-based Johns Hopkins School of Medicine disassociated themselves from the Malaysian university due to PUGSOM failing to pay up according to contract terms.

Johns Hopkins had on 31 July 2014 withdrawn from PUGSOM due to late payments and non-payments for 12 months. Perdana University had entered into a service agreement with Johns Hopkins University to run its medical program at its campus in Serdang.

Following the withdrawal of Johns Hopkins from PUGSOM curriculum and faculty, the students will be transferred to the Perdana University – Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (PU-RCSI).

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming has asked PUGSOM to ensure current cohorts under the program are able to graduate in a fair and transparent manner. Ong suggests proper consultation be held with stakeholders including the students and parents before moving the students to a different university.

He pointed out that the differing structure of the two university programs would pose complications to the students because their current program is a post-graduate degree, while the proposed transfer program to PU-RCSI is an undergraduate program.

“The Medical school from the United States, like law school, is a post-graduate degree and only those who have an undergraduate degree can apply for these programs,” he said.

Ong also asked the government to stop sending new JPA scholars to PUGSOM and PU-RCSI since Perdana University’s owner, Academic Medical Center Sdn Bhd, is in dire financial straits.

“According to the financial accounts submitted to the Companies Commission, Academic Medical Center Sdn Bhd had negative reserves of RM189 million and it made a loss of RM63.6 million as of 2013 year end,” reminding that the welfare of medical students should not be taken lightly.

PUGSOM class of 2015

The Serdang MP urged the government to sever its financial pipeline to the RM 2.3 billion public Private Partnership Project to construct a Perdana University campus, which includes a 600 bed teaching hospital.

He questioned why construction company Chase Perdana was given the license to operate a medical university, and asked why the parent company of Academic Medical Center, Chase Perdana, was awarded the construction project.

“I myself had the opportunity to interact on an informal basis with some of the Johns Hopkins faculty at the Perdana University and found them to be very passionate about teaching and also wanting to embrace the opportunity to do research in Malaysia,” regretting that the Johns Hopkins faculty was no longer available to PUGSOM students.

“I sincerely hope this is not another example of a Public Pirate Partnership masquerading as a Public Private Partnership where the private party involved gets to reap all the financial benefits with the Public having to bear the ultimate cost,” he added.

Since its launching on 12 September 2011, the Serdang-based Perdana University campus had received up to 50 students per year under the JPA scholarship. Ex-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed is PUGSOM’s chancellor. -The Rocket