Its minister, Alexander Nanta Linggi, said enforcement teams will not issue compound fines but will instead remind traders to adhere to the maximum selling price effective today.

“The ministry will give traders one week to adjust to the test kit price.

“This means we also care about traders, but test kit sales must comply with the stipulated maximum price from today,” he said after conducting an inspection at a pharmacy here today.

Nanta said the ministry also carried out inspections on wholesalers to ensure that they complied with the ceiling wholesale price of RM16.

Retailers and wholesalers who fail to adhere to the maximum price will face action under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.

A person can be fined up to RM100,000 or jailed not more than three years, or both, or face compound fines of up to RM50,000, while companies can be fined up to RM500,000 or have the offences compounded up to RM250,000.

Meanwhile, on the costs of the antigen rapid test (RTK-Ag) and the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test carried out in clinics, Nanta said his ministry was awaiting the advice of the health minister as well as holding discussions with industry representatives on the matter.

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