By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Monday, August 9, 1993:
Tsu Koon should explain why Penang lost out to Ipoh in the establishment of the Asean Medical College which will confer medical degress form Monash University
Education Minister, Datuk Sulaiman Daud, said yesterday that the proposed Asean Medical College’s degrees to be conferred by Australia’s Monash Uninersity under their twining programme will be of a high standard.
He said that he received this assurance from the officials of Monash University during his recent visit to Australia.
Under the programme, students undergo the first three years in either Monash University, University of New South Wales or Auckland University before completing the final three years at the proposed Asean Medical College (AMC) in Ipoh.
The AMC will make use of the Ipoh Genaral Hospital and the Teluk Intan and Tnajong Ranbutan general hospitals as teaching hospitals while plans are underway to build a recently near the Ipoh GH to complement its facilities.
When I spoke in the Penang State Assembly on June 24, I called on the Penang State Government to make Penang the centre for higher education in South-East Asia. Without mentioning name, I referred specifically to the proposal by Monash University to set up a private medical college in Malaysia. I reminded Dr. Koh Tsu Koon to do all he could to secure for Penang the Asean Medical College as Monash University was having second thoughts about choosing Penang to establish its private medical college.
At that time, Tsu Koon said that he was not aware of any problems with regard to Monash University choosing Penang for its private medical college and that efforts in this direction were continuing.
However, in less than a month from my speech on the subject in the Penang State Assembly, it was announced that Monash University had decided in favour of Ipoh instead of Penang to establish the Asean Medical College.
Penang Chief Minister, Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, shold explain why Penang lost out to Ipoh in the establishment of the Asean Medical College which will confer medical degress form Monash University.
More and more evidence are surfacing showing that Tsu Koon is not in full charge and control of the Penang State Government.
The Asean Medical College is one, and another is the need for the Penang Chief Minister to depend on DAP for information that the Penang Port Commission will become the laughing stock of the world when its RM300 million North Butterworth Container Terminal is copleted next year, for it would not be operational for one year as it would not have gantry cranes!