Gurdial Singh Nijar said while ivermectin was central to the case, the ruling has broader implications as it reaffirms a fundamental legal principle that doctors have the right to dispense medicine without government interference.

“This is enshrined in the Poisons Act 1952, which states that doctors can prescribe Group B medication. This right cannot be taken away as long as proper protocols are followed,” he said at a press conference here today.

Gurdial said that before the ruling, doctors who dispensed ivermectin had their offices raided and were fined RM5,000 after being charged in court with illegally selling ivermectin under the Sale of Drugs Act 1952.

On March 3, a three-member panel led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat unanimously upheld a Court of Appeal ruling affirming that doctors are legally entitled to dispense ivermectin to patients under their care.

The government’s appeal stemmed from an originating summons filed by then Malaysian Association for the Advancement of Functional and Interdisciplinary Medicine (Maafim) president Dr S Vijaendran and Maafim member Dr Che Amir Farid Che Isahak, who were both represented by Gurdial.

The case began after health ministry officials raided Che Amir’s clinic in Ampang in 2021 during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The raid followed reports that two patients, unconnected to Che Amir, had self-prescribed ivermectin and allegedly suffered acute poisoning and breathing difficulties.

Officials seized the ivermectin found in the clinic, arguing that it was not a registered product. They also claimed that the doctor was not legally permitted to sell or dispense the drug.

Che Amir was subsequently charged in the magistrates’ court with selling and dispensing the drug. The case is still pending, with his next hearing at the Ampang magistrates’ court on March 20.

“I knew at the time that it wouldn’t be long until the health ministry would find out I was prescribing ivermectin, and that they would raid my clinic. But I was prepared,” said Che Amir at the press conference.

⁠“For me, if I saved at least one life, it would be worth any (legal) consequence,” he said, adding that none of his patients suffered any serious side effects except for diarrhoea.

Gurdial said he hopes the Federal Court’s ruling will support Che Amir’s case and, ultimately, help other doctors in similar situations.

“We’re going to pose some arguments (in Che Amir’s case) and get the Attorney-General’s Chambers to agree, or at least get the judge to agree, that you can’t charge people with an offence which does not exist.”

He said Maafim is considering helping doctors who were charged and fined to seek refunds, but the challenge lies in the fact that they pleaded guilty.

However, since the court ruled that prescribing ivermectin under the Poisons Act 1952 is not an offence, Maafim is exploring the possibility of gathering enough affected doctors to file a case for reimbursement and damages.