The government is going ahead with making the display of medicine prices mandatory from tomorrow, despite the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) claiming that the policy was not finalised yet.
Enforcement of the new rule will be carried out by the health ministry with the guidance and cooperation from the domestic trade and cost of living ministry.
In a joint statement, the two ministries reiterated that this initiative is in line with the government’s agenda of ensuring price transparency for drugs.
“This is aimed at ensuring the people can make informed choices, make comparisons, and choose the best price in planning their expenditures for medicine,” they said.
They added that the authorities would give some leeway over the first three months of the new rule’s implementation to raise awareness and educate private medical facilities rather than punish them.
The ministries also released an FAQ on the new policy which can be accessed here.
The MMA and several other groups representing doctors have protested the new requirement because of its implementation under a non-medical Act.
They contend that the rule should be enforced under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 rather than the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.
