KUALA LUMPUR: Starting tomorrow, traditional medicine practitioners who are not registered with the Ministry of Health (MOH) may be subject to legal action including fines and imprisonment under the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Act 2016 (Act 775).
MOH Traditional and Complementary Medicine Division principal assistant director Dr Tajul Iqmal Tajul Arus said this was following the second phase of the enforcement of the act against traditional medicine practitioners who havs yet to register with the MOH.
He said under the act, individuals who practise traditional and complementary medicine without a valid practice certificate, or do not display their valid certificate, may be subject to a fine not exceeding RM10,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or both.
“Earlier during the transition period from March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2025, we placed more emphasis on the educational approach to the enforcement of this act.
“From March 1, 2025, we will begin legal action against traditional and complementary medicine practitioners in recognised fields of practice who are found to have violated and committed offences under this act,“ he said in a media briefing session on the enforcement of the act here today.
Dr Tajul Iqmal said under the act, a person who is not a registered practitioner cannot practice traditional medicine and can be fined not more than RM30,000 or imprisoned not more than two years or both for the first offence if they violate the law.
For subsequent offences, they can be fined a maximum of RM50,000 or imprisoned not more than three years, with the same punishment also being imposed on individuals who make false or misleading statements regarding traditional and complementary medicine services.
He said as of Feb 25, his department had received 18,802 registration applications from traditional and complementary medicine practitioners nationwide, covering seven recognised areas of practice.
The seven areas of practice currently recognised by the Ministry of Health include traditional Malay medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Indian medicine, homeopathy, chiropractic, osteopathy and Islamic medicine practices.
As of Jan 17, he said 14,312 local traditional and complementary medicine practitioners had been registered with the Ministry of Health, while 158 involved foreign practitioners and the highest registration involving Malay traditional medicine practitioners at 4,541.
