Medical Registration Act
(CHAPTER 174)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 23 of 1953)

REVISED EDITION 1985
(30th March 1987)
An Act for the provisional registration of medical practitioners.
[27th June 1953]
Short title
1.  This Act may be cited as the Medical Registration Act.
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“Commonwealth or foreign diploma” means such a qualification as is mentioned in section 18 of the Medical Act 1956 of the United Kingdom other than a Singapore diploma;
“diploma” means any diploma, degree, fellowship, membership, licence, authority to practise, letters, testimonial, certificate, or other status or document granted by any university, corporation, college, or other body, or by any departments of or persons acting under the authority of the government of any country or place;
“Medical Council” means the Medical Council established under section 3(1);
“provisional registration” means registration by virtue of section 13 and “provisionally registered” shall be construed accordingly;
“qualifying diploma” means a diploma conferring, subject to compliance with the provisions of this Act, the right of registration under section 9(1);
“qualifying examination” means an examination which has to be passed to qualify for a qualifying diploma;
“registered medical practitioner” means a person registered under this Act and includes a person deemed to be so registered under sections 30 and 31;
“Singapore diploma” means a degree, diploma or licence in medicine and surgery of the King Edward VII College of Medicine, Singapore, the University of Malaya in Singapore, the University of Singapore or the National University of Singapore.
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[1956 c. 76.]
Establishment of Medical Council
3.—(1)  There shall be established within Singapore a Council to be called the Medical Council of Singapore.
(2)  The Medical Council shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and shall have a common seal.
Constitution of Medical Council
4.—(1)  The Medical Council shall consist of —
(a)the Director of Medical Services;
(b)one medical officer in the public service to be appointed by the President;
(c)two registered medical practitioners to be appointed by the President on the nomination of the Council of the National University of Singapore;
(d)six registered medical practitioners resident in Singapore to be elected by the registered medical practitioners of Singapore; and
(e)three registered medical practitioners resident in Singapore to be appointed by the Minister.
(2)  The members referred to in subsection (1)(b), (c), (d) and (e) shall hold office for a period of 3 years but at the end of that period they may again be appointed to be members of the Medical Council.
(3)  The election of the members referred to in subsection (1)(d) shall be conducted in such manner as the President may prescribe.
(4)  The Medical Council may appoint a secretary.
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President of Medical Council
5.—(1)  The President of the Medical Council shall be elected for a term of 3 years by the members of the Medical Council from among its members.
(2)  The President of the Medical Council, if present, shall be the chairman at meetings of the Medical Council. In his absence the members present at a meeting of the Medical Council shall elect one of themselves to act as chairman at that meeting.
Meetings and quorum of Medical Council
6.—(1)  The Medical Council shall meet at such times and such places as the President of the Medical Council may appoint.
(2)  The quorum of the Medical Council shall be 6.
(3)  When any vacancy occurs among its members the Medical Council shall, as soon as practicable, take the necessary action to fill the vacancy.
(4)  The validity of any proceedings of the Medical Council shall not be affected by any vacancy among its members or by any defect in the appointment of a member.
(5)  The chairman at any meeting shall have an original vote and also, if upon any question the votes are equally divided, a casting vote.
(6)  There shall be paid to the unofficial members of the Medical Council such fees for attendance and such reasonable travelling expenses and subsistence allowances as may from time to time be approved by the President of the Medical Council.
(7)  The Medical Council may make rules for the conduct of its business.
Registrar
7.—(1)  For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a Registrar of Medical Practitioners (referred to in this Act as the Registrar).
(2)  The Director of Medical Services shall be the Registrar.
Register
8.—(1)  The Registrar shall cause a register (referred to in this Act as the register) to be kept containing the names, addresses and qualifications of registered medical practitioners and such other particulars as may be prescribed.
(2)  The Registrar shall be responsible for the maintenance and custody of the register.
Persons entitled to registration
9.—(1)  Subject to the provisions of this Act, the following persons shall be entitled to be registered under this Act:
(a)any person who holds a Singapore diploma;
(b)any person holding any other degree, diploma or licence in medicine and surgery which was granted by any university, corporation, college or other body, outside Singapore, included in the Schedule but subject to the limitation appearing, where applicable in column 3 thereof; and
(c)any person holding any other degree, diploma or licence granted by any university, corporation, college or other body outside Singapore which is not included in the Schedule whom the Minister may, after consulting the Medical Council, by order declare to be entitled to be registered under this Act, subject to such conditions and restrictions, as may be prescribed in such order.
(2)  Before advising the Minister under subsection (1)(c), the Medical Council may satisfy itself, by such evidence as it may require, that the person holds a degree, diploma or licence that is not lower in standard than that required of a person who holds a Singapore diploma and, if the Medical Council is not so satisfied, it may require that person to undergo and to pass an examination conducted or arranged by the Medical Council, or by such other person or persons as it may for this purpose appoint.
(3)  Any person who is in Singapore for the purposes of teaching, research or postgraduate study in medicine or surgery under such training scheme as may be approved by the Minister in any institution recognised, from time to time, by the Medical Council for that purpose or any person who possesses medical or surgical knowledge, experience and skill which the Medical Council considers to be of international standing or are such as to have special value to the people of Singapore, or who, not having any of the qualifications mentioned in subsection (1), possesses other qualifications which, in the opinion of the Medical Council are adequate for purposes of registration under this Act, may have his name entered in the register for so long as he continues to engage himself exclusively in teaching or in research or in postgraduate study in medicine or surgery, as the case may be, under an approved training scheme or in such medical or surgical capacity as the Medical Council may specify:
Provided that registration under this subsection shall be for a period not exceeding two years which may be renewed, at the discretion of the Medical Council, for a further period or periods each not exceeding one year.
(4)  The entitlement of any person to be registered under subsection (3) may be subject to such conditions and restrictions as the Medical Council may impose.
(5)  The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, after consulting the Medical Council, vary or amend the Schedule to include therein any medical qualification granted by any university, corporation, college or other body which he has decided should be recognised as entitling the holder to be registered under this Act.
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Full registration in medical register not to be granted without proof of experience
10.  A person shall not become registered, otherwise than by way of provisional registration, unless —
(a)in the case of a person claiming registration by virtue of a Singapore diploma, it is certified under section 11 that he has had the experience specified in that section; or
(b)in the case of a person claiming registration by virtue of a Commonwealth or foreign diploma, the Medical Council is satisfied that he has had such experience as is specified in section 12.
Certificate of experience in approved hospital
11.—(1)  A certificate for the purposes of section 10(a) shall not be granted in respect of any person unless after passing a qualifying examination he has been engaged in employment in a resident medical capacity in one or more approved hospitals or approved institutions for such period as may be prescribed or in such other capacity as the university or other corporation empowered to grant a Singapore diploma may approve (referred to in this Act as approved capacity) and for such period as may be prescribed.
(2)  A person satisfying the condition specified in subsection (1) may apply for a certificate under this section to the body granting the qualifying diploma by virtue of which he claims registration, and if that body is satisfied —
(a)that during the time the applicant has been so employed he has been engaged for such period or minimum period as may be prescribed in medicine, and for such period or minimum period as may be prescribed in surgery and for such period or minimum period as may be prescribed in an approved capacity; and
(b)that his service while so employed has been satisfactory,
they shall grant, in such form as may be prescribed, a certificate that they are so satisfied.
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(3)  Time during which an applicant, while employed as mentioned in subsection (1), has been engaged in midwifery or in such other approved capacity, not exceeding such period as may be prescribed, shall be counted for the purposes of subsection (2)(a) either as time spent in medicine or as time spent in surgery, as the applicant may elect.
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(4)  Where during any period of such employment as is referred to in subsection (1) an applicant who has been engaged in medicine has also been engaged in surgery or in midwifery or both or in an approved capacity, or an applicant who has been engaged in surgery has also been engaged in midwifery or in an approved capacity, the period shall be apportioned for the purposes of subsections (1), (2) and (3) in such manner as may be determined by the body granting the qualifying diploma by virtue of which the applicant claims registration.
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(5)  In this section —
(a)“approved”, in relation to a hospital or institution, means approved for the time being for the purposes of this section by any university or other corporation empowered to grant a Singapore diploma; and
(b)references to employment in a resident medical capacity shall be construed as references to employment in the practice of medicine, surgery or midwifery, where the person in question is resident in the hospital or institution where he is employed or conveniently near thereto, and is by the terms of his employment required to be so resident.
(6)  In relation to a person claiming registration by virtue of a diploma granted on passing a qualifying examination held by two or more bodies jointly, the references in this section to the body granting the qualifying diploma shall be construed as references to the bodies by whom the qualifying examination was held, acting jointly.
(7)  Subject to subsection (6), a person holding two or more qualifying diplomas shall be treated for the purposes of this section as claiming registration by virtue of such one of those diplomas as he may choose.
(8)  Nothing in this section shall preclude a university, corporation, college or other body empowered to grant a Singapore diploma from approving for the purposes of this section a hospital or institution in a foreign country (referred to in this Act as approved foreign institution) and granting a certificate for the purpose of section 10(a) to the holder of a Singapore diploma provided that such holder satisfies that university, corporation, college or other body that —
(a)he has served in that approved foreign institution in a resident medical capacity for a period that is equivalent to the period prescribed under subsection (2)(a); and
(b)he has performed and completed such service to the satisfaction of the competent authority or authorities controlling such approved foreign institution.
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Experience required for holders of Commonwealth or foreign diplomas
12.  The matters as to which the Medical Council shall be satisfied for the purposes of section 10(b) are —
(a)that the person claiming registration has been employed as mentioned in section 11(1) and has satisfied the conditions specified in section 11(2)(a) and (b);
(b)that the person has rendered satisfactory service in an appointment or appointments (whether within or outside the Commonwealth) such as in the opinion of the Medical Council confers experience of the practice of medicine and surgery, or medicine, surgery and midwifery, not less extensive than that required for a certificate under section 11; or
(c)that the person has otherwise acquired such experience as aforesaid.
Provisional registration
13.—(1)  Subsections (2) to (5) shall have effect for enabling persons desirous of obtaining certificates under section 11, or of satisfying the Medical Council of the matters specified in section 12(a), to be employed as mentioned in section 11(1).
(2)  Any person who applies to the Registrar shall, if apart from section 10 he would be entitled to be registered and he produces evidence satisfactory to the Registrar that he has been selected for such employment as is mentioned in section 11(1), be entitled on payment of a fee of $25 to be provisionally registered.
(3)  Persons provisionally registered shall be deemed to be registered so far as is necessary —
(a)to enable them to be employed as mentioned in section 11(1):
(b)in order that the provisions of this Act relating expressly to provisional registration may be applicable in their case; and
(c)for the purpose of any such written law or such other purposes, as the Minister may by order direct,
but not further.
(4)  The Medical Council shall so exercise its power of making orders for regulating the register to be kept under this Act as to secure that persons provisionally registered shall be registered in a separate part of the register, and that on a person becoming registered otherwise than provisionally his name shall be removed from the separate part of the register.
(5)  The Medical Council may if it thinks fit direct that, in addition to the annual publication of the register directed by section 18, the Registrar shall, at such time or times during a year as the Medical Council may direct, cause to be printed, published and sold, under the direction of the Medical Council, a register relating only to persons provisionally registered to be called “The Register of Provisional Medical Registration”, in the like form and containing the like particulars as the register, but compiled by reference to such date or dates in the year as the Medical Council may direct; and section 18 relating to evidence shall apply to the Register of Provisional Medical Registration as it applies to the register.
Evidence of qualification to be given before registration and entry of additional qualifications
14.—(1)  No degree or qualification shall be entered on the register, either on the first registration or by way of addition to a registered name, unless the Registrar is satisfied by such evidence as he may consider proper that the person claiming the degree or qualification is entitled thereto.
(2)  Every person registered under this Act who obtains any higher degree or qualification other than the qualification in respect of which he has been registered, shall be entitled to have that higher degree or additional qualification inserted in the register in substitution for or in addition to the qualification previously registered.
(3)  The Medical Council shall have power to decide what higher degrees and additional qualifications shall be admitted to be entered upon the register:
Provided that any higher degree or additional qualification recognised by the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom shall be admitted to be entered on the register.
Application for registration
15.—(1)  Any person entitled to be registered under this Act may apply to the Registrar for registration.
(2)  Applications for registration shall be made in such manner or form and shall be accompanied by such documents and particulars as the Medical Council may prescribe.
(3)  The fee for registration shall be $50:
Provided that no fee shall be payable for the registration of any medical practitioner in the public service of Singapore or in the service of the National University of Singapore.
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(4)  Where a person has complied with subsections (2) and (3), he shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be registered by the Registrar in the register.
(5)  If the Medical Council is satisfied that an applicant for registration —
(a)is not entitled to be registered;
(b)is not of good fame and character; or
(c)has had his name removed from a register of medical practitioners in the United Kingdom, a territory of the Commonwealth or another country, the degrees, diplomas or licences in medicine or surgery of which are recognised as a qualification entitling the holder thereof to be licensed under this Act,
the Medical Council may, if it thinks fit, refuse to enter the name of such person upon the register.
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(6)  The Medical Council shall afford an applicant for registration an opportunity of being heard personally or by counsel on the application.
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(7)  Where the Medical Council refuses to enter the name of an applicant upon the register on any of the grounds mentioned in subsection (5), the Medical Council shall state in writing the reasons for the refusal and the Registrar shall forthwith by notice in writing give these reasons to the applicant.
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(8)  Any person aggrieved by the refusal of the Medical Council to enter his name upon the register may, within one month of the notice given under subsection (7), appeal against such refusal to the High Court and on any such appeal the High Court may give such directions in the matter as it thinks proper including any directions as to the cost of the appeal.
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(9)  No appeal shall lie from an order of the High Court under this section.
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Annual retention fee
16.—(1)  Subject to this section, a person who is registered under this Act shall on or before 30th September in each year pay to the Medical Council such annual retention fee as may be prescribed by the Medical Council with the approval of the Minister for the year commencing on 1st January next following.
(2)  If a person registered under this Act does not pay such annual retention fee as the Medical Council has prescribed on or before 30th September in any year, the Medical Council shall forthwith notify him by letter addressed to his last known address that if the fee is not paid before 30th November next following his name will be removed from the register.
(3)  If a person registered under this Act does not comply with the notification under subsection (2), the Medical Council shall forthwith remove his name from the register.
(4)  If a person’s name is removed from the register under this section or under section 23, the Medical Council shall restore it —
(a)upon application by the person in the prescribed form where his name has been removed in pursuance of this section or section 22(1)(c) and upon an order of the High Court where his name has been restored under section 24; and
(b)upon payment of such restoration fee as may be prescribed.
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Assessor to Medical Council
17.—(1)  For the purpose of advising the Medical Council on questions of law arising in proceedings before it under the provisions of this Act, there shall in all such proceedings be an assessor to the Medical Council who shall be appointed by the Medical Council and shall be an advocate and solicitor of not less than 10 years’ standing.
(2)  The Minister may make rules as to the functions of assessors appointed under this section, and in particular rules under this subsection may contain such provisions for securing —
(a)that where an assessor advises the Medical Council on any question of law as to evidence, procedure or any other matters specified in the rules, he shall do so in the presence of every party, or person representing a party, to the proceedings who appears thereat or, if the advice is tendered after the Medical Council has begun to deliberate as to its findings, that every such party or person shall be informed what advice the assessor has tendered; and
(b)that every such party or person shall be informed if in any case the Medical Council does not accept the advice of the assessor on any such question,
and such incidental and supplementary provisions as appear to the Medical Council expedient.
(3)  Any assessor under this section may be appointed either generally or for any particular proceedings or class of proceedings, and subject to this section shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of the instrument under which he is appointed.
(4)  The Medical Council may pay to persons appointed to act as assessors such remuneration, to be paid as part of the expenses of the Medical Council, as the Medical Council with the approval of the Minister may determine.
Publication of list of registered medical practitioners
18.—(1)  The Registrar shall as soon as may be after 1st January of every year prepare and publish in the Gazette a list of the names, addresses, qualifications and dates of the qualifications of all persons whose names appear in the register on 1st January immediately preceding the publication of the list in the Gazette.
(2)  The publication of such a list shall be prima facie evidence that the persons named therein are registered under this Act.
(3)  The absence of the name of any person from the list shall be prima facie evidence that that person is not registered under this Act.
(4)  A certificate under the hand of the Registrar that the name of a person has been entered or removed from the register shall be conclusive evidence that the person is or is not registered under this Act, as the case may be.
Privileges of registered persons and disabilities of unregistered persons
19.—(1)  Every person registered under this Act shall be entitled to practise medicine, surgery and midwifery and to recover in due course of law reasonable charges for professional aid, advice and visits and the value of any medicine or any medical or surgical appliances rendered or supplied by him to his patients.
(2)  Subject to sections 27 and 28, no person shall be entitled to recover in any court any such charges as are referred to in subsection (1) unless he is registered under this Act:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall affect the practice of midwifery by any person duly licensed in that behalf under the provisions of any law in force in Singapore.
Medical certificates
20.  No certificate or other document required by any written law to be signed by a duly qualified medical practitioner given after the commencement of this Act shall be valid unless signed by a person registered under this Act.
Definition
21.  The words “legally qualified medical practitioner” or “duly qualified medical practitioner” or any words importing a person recognised by law as a medical practitioner or member of the medical profession, when used in any written law with reference to such persons, shall be construed to mean a person registered under this Act.
Power of Council to order removal of names from register
22.—(1)  The Medical Council may upon such evidence as it may require order the removal from the register of the name of any person, whether provisionally registered or otherwise, who —
(a)is deceased; or
(b)is no longer practising medicine, surgery or midwifery in Singapore;
(c)has not supplied to the Registrar an address in Singapore at which he can be found. Any person failing to acknowledge within 12 months of the date of despatch the receipt of a registered letter or telegram addressed to him at the last address supplied by him to the Registrar shall be deemed not to have supplied the Registrar with an address under this paragraph;
(d)has obtained registration by a fraudulent or incorrect statement;
(e)has been registered through error as to his qualifications for registration;
(f)has been registered pursuant to an order made by the Minister under section 9(1)(c) and who has contravened or failed to comply with any conditions or restrictions imposed by such order;
(g)has been registered under section 9(3) and who has contravened or failed to comply with any conditions or restrictions imposed by the Medical Council;
(h)has had his registration withdrawn, suspended or cancelled by the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom or by any other body which registered such person; or
(i)has failed to serve the Government or such other body or organisation as directed by the Government for such period as may be specified in any undertaking given by him to the Government.
(2)  Any name removed from the register pursuant to subsection (1)(c) may be restored as provided for in section 16(4)(a).
(3)  Subsection (1)(f), (g) and (h) shall apply to persons registered before 14th July 1972 as it applies to persons registered after that date.
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Power of Council to strike name off register
23.—(1)  If any person registered, whether provisionally or otherwise, under this Act is convicted of any heinous offence or, after due inquiry by the Medical Council, is deemed by the Council to have been guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect, the Medical Council may order the name of that person to be removed from the register.
(2)  The Registrar shall forthwith give to the person concerned notice in writing of the removal of his name from the register.
(3)  Subject to this section, if any registered medical practitioner is guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect, the Medical Council may, instead of invoking subsection (1) relating to the removal of a person’s name from the register, impose all or any of the following penalties on the offending person:
(a)censure him;
(b)require him to give such undertaking as the Medical Council thinks fit to abstain in future from the conduct complained of;
(c)suspend his registration either conditionally or absolutely for a period of not less than 3 months and not more than 12 months.
(4)  The suspension of the registration of any person whose registration has been suspended may at any time and for such reason as the Medical Council thinks fit, by order of the Medical Council be annulled and the effect of any such annulment shall be as the Medical Council determines.
(5)  While any order of suspension of registration under this section remains in force, the person concerned shall not be regarded as being registered but forthwith on the expiry or annulment of such order, his rights and privileges as a registered medical practitioner shall be revived as from the date of such expiry or annulment.
(6)  Before suspending the registration of any person or taking any proceeding under subsection (3) against any person, the Medical Council shall —
(a)give to that person, by registered post, addressed to the last known place of residence or business of that person at least 14 days’ notice in writing of the complaint against him and of the day, time and place fixed for hearing the complaint; and
(b)hold full inquiry into the matter of the complaint and afford that person an opportunity of giving an explanation personally or in writing.
(7)  The Medical Council may in any proceedings where any person is found guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect make such order as to payment of costs of the proceedings as to it seems fit.
(8)  A person who has been suspended from registration pursuant to this section shall have the right of appeal to the High Court against the order of suspension and on any such appeal the Court may make such order as it thinks proper having regard to the merits of the case and the public welfare.
(9)  Any such appeal shall be in the nature of a rehearing and shall be made in accordance with the Rules of Court.
(10)  An order of suspension shall not take effect until the expiration of a period of 21 days after notification by the Medical Council to the registered medical practitioner of the making of such order.
(11)  If within such period the registered medical practitioner gives due notice of appeal to the High Court, such order shall not take effect unless the order is confirmed by the Court or the appeal is for any reason dismissed by that Court.
(12)  Unless the High Court otherwise orders, the period of suspension named in the order appealed from shall commence on the day that the order commences to have effect.
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Appeal against removal from register
24.—(1)  Any person, whether provisionally registered or otherwise, aggrieved by the removal of his name from the register under section 23 may, within one month of the notice given under section 23(2), appeal to the High Court against the removal and on any such appeal the High Court may give such directions in the matter as it thinks proper, including any directions as to the costs of the appeal.
(2)  No appeal shall lie from an order of the High Court under this section.
Alterations in the register
25.  The Registrar shall, from time to time, insert in the register any alteration which may come to his knowledge in the name or address of any person registered, whether provisionally or otherwise, under this Act. He shall also insert such alterations in the qualifications, additional qualifications and other particulars in the register and remove therefrom the name of such a person, as under this Act are required to be altered or removed.
Penalty for unlawfully using title implying qualification or practising without being registered
26.  Any person who wilfully and falsely pretends to be qualified, or takes or uses any name or title implying that he is qualified, to practise medicine or surgery or, not being registered or provisionally registered or exempted from registration under this Act, practises or professes to practise or publishes his name as practising medicine or surgery shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 for each offence and to a further fine of $50 for every day during which the offence continues.
Exemption from registration
27.  All medical officers of the armed forces or of any visiting forces lawfully present in Singapore serving on full pay in Singapore and all ships’ surgeons while in discharge of their duties shall be exempted from registration and shall be entitled to all the privileges of registered medical practitioners under this Act.
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Malay, Chinese and Indian systems of treatment
28.  Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit or prevent the practice of systems of therapeutics according to Malay, Chinese or Indian method.
Regulations
29.  Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Medical Council may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations to prescribe anything which under this Act is required to be prescribed, and generally to carry out the objects and purposes of this Act.
Medical practitioners registered in Malaysia
30.  Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this Act, a medical practitioner registered under the corresponding provisions of any written law for the time being in force in Malaysia relating to the registration of medical practitioners and who holds a diploma or degree entitling him to registration under section 9(1)(a) or (b) shall be deemed to be registered in like manner and subject to the same qualifications, conditions and restrictions (if any) under the corresponding provisions of this Act.
Savings
31.  Every medical practitioner who was registered under the provisions of the Medical Registration Ordinance, repealed by this Act, at the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to be a registered medical practitioner under the provisions of this Act.
[1936 Ed.]