Domestic trade and cost of living minister Armizan Mohd Ali said this would allow the public to compare costs at healthcare premises and plan their medical expenses accordingly, Bernama reported.

“The mechanism for displaying medicine prices aligns with universal consumer rights, which include the right to information and the right to choose.

“I want to emphasise that this rule is solely about displaying prices so that the public has access to information on medicine prices, allowing them to make informed choices.

“It is not being implemented to control medicine prices,” he told reporters in Putrajaya today.

On Tuesday, the Malaysian Medical Association questioned the legal basis of enforcing this directive under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.

MMA president Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira said private general practitioners should only be regulated under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998, and not subjected to enforcement under a separate law meant for general price control.

“The Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 is, and should remain, the only basis of regulation of medical practice,” he said.

Armizan said the Medicine Price Transparency Mechanism was tabled at the National Action Council on Cost of Living meeting on Oct 3, 2023.

This was followed by the tabling of a Cabinet memorandum on Jan 8, which led to Cabinet approval of the mechanism.

He said the enforcement of medicine price displays would be implemented under a rule made pursuant to the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.