PETALING JAYA: Doctors are not against price transparency for medicines but object to the enforcement of the recent mandatory price labelling move under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said in a statement today.
Ahead of the planned march from the Health Ministry to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday, titled ‘Doctors Betrayed: The Long Walk to Putrajaya, MMA’s Private Practitioners Section (PPS) chairman Datuk Dr Parmjit Singh Kuldip Singh said the symbolic walk aims to express the medical fraternity’s deep disappointment over the application of Act 723 — a law not originally intended for the medical profession.
The march would highlight concerns about the various unanswered questions on the medicine price display and the unresolved issue of stagnant private general practitioner consultation fees, a longstanding issue since 1992.
“We wish to reiterate that doctors are not against price transparency but strongly oppose Act 723 being used in the medical profession,“ he said in a statement.
Dr Parmjit said the march would go ahead as planned if there are no objections, as MMA have submitted all necessary documents to inform the relevant authorities about the gathering.
He said a memorandum will be handed over to the PMO through a joint effort between the association and other doctors’ associations during the march.
Last week, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali announced that the mandatory price labelling would take effect on May 1.
In a joint statement, they said the move aims to ensure the public can make informed choices by knowing, comparing, and selecting the best prices when managing their medication expenses.
“This initiative is being introduced in line with the Madani Government’s commitment to promoting price transparency through the Medicine Price Transparency Mechanism (MKHU).
“It will be enforced under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Price Marking for Medicines) Order 2025, pursuant to the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723),“ they said.
The price labelling requirement applies to all medicines for human use, including prescription and non-prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, traditional remedies, health supplements, and extemporaneous preparations.
It covers all private healthcare facilities and community pharmacies regulated under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 [Act 586] that sell, supply, or administer medicines.
Following this, MMA called for the suspension of the policy’s rollout to ensure that the association’s concerns were adequately discussed and resolved.
