KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — Four associations representing medical practitioners have urged the government and parliamentarians to suspend further readings of the Poisons (Amendment) Bill 2025.
In a joint memorandum issued late last night, the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), the Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia (MPCAM), and the Organisation of Malaysian Muslim Doctors (Perdim) expressed serious concern with enforcement overreach and stakeholder exclusion.
The Poisons amendment bill – which was tabled by Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad for first reading last Tuesday – is expected to undergo second reading for debate in the Dewan Rakyat later today. The text of most, if not all, government bills in Malaysia is not changed by MPs in the slightest at the committee stage after passing the policy stage, as Parliament routinely passes most bills.
Any amendments to bills, such as with the country’s first anti-tobacco law that was later passed as the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024, only occur when the government retracts the bill and introduces a completely new one for first reading.
The three key points of concern by doctors’ groups with the Poisons amendment bill were the proposed inclusion of all police officers as authorised officers, ministerial power to appoint “any person” as an authorised officer without criteria, and a new vague and sweeping definition of “premises”.
“Clause 2 of the Bill allows any police officer to act as an enforcement agent under the Poisons Act. This risks untrained officers conducting clinical inspections, disrupting practice, and potentially violating patient confidentiality. Law enforcement must remain focused on criminal conduct, not regulatory compliance in licensed medical premises.
“New Section 31A allows the Minister to appoint ‘any person’ as an authorised officer, without requiring relevant qualifications, training, or accountability mechanisms. This opens the door to unqualified or politically linked appointees wielding enforcement authority over medical practitioners.
“The Bill broadens ‘premises’ to include buildings, vehicles, floating structures, and offshore installations. Without specific exclusions, this may apply to private clinics, mobile setups, charity health booths, and temporary vaccination stations — exposing them to arbitrary raids and disruptions,” said the four doctors’ groups in their memorandum.
FPMPAM, MMA, MPCAM, and Perdim said if the intention of the bill was to expand enforcement powers to address serious criminal activities, like drug smuggling, maritime trafficking, or violations involving offshore or border territories, then this must be clearly specified in the law.
“What is unacceptable, however, is that private health care facilities — including general practitioner clinics, mobile health services, and community outreach initiatives — are being swept into the same enforcement net, with no clear exemption or procedural safeguard,” they said.
“We strongly urge the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Members of Parliament to expressly exclude licensed private health care facilities from these new enforcement provisions or to clearly define the scope as applying only to non-health-related criminal activities.”
FPMPAM, MMA, MPCAM, and Perdim further complained about the government tabling the bill “without any engagement” with medical stakeholders, including general practitioner (GP) associations, private sector representatives, or health law experts.
“This absence of consultation is both procedurally deficient and ethically troubling, especially when the proposed changes directly affect the daily practice of thousands of registered practitioners nationwide.”
The doctors’ groups called for the Poisons bill to be amended to explicitly exclude licensed private health care facilities from police and arbitrary enforcement under the Poisons Act, as well as for “premises” and “authorised officers” to be clearly and narrowly defined, restricting these powers to criminal and non-medical contexts.
FPMPAM said the medical groups formally submitted their memorandum to the MOH, the parliamentary special select committee on health, and select MPs yesterday, but have yet to receive a formal acknowledgement.
