KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Doctors have called out the Ministry of Health (MOH) for imposing price transparency on private general practitioners (GPs), while its own drug procurement is allegedly opaque.
Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) president Dr Shanmuganathan Ganeson described CodeBlue’s recent exposé on pharmaceutical procurement “chaos” within the MOH as “deeply troubling”.
“While billions are at stake upstream in opaque institutional tenders, enforcement bodies are hyper-focused on forcing price display at GP clinics — many of which are struggling to stay afloat,” Dr Shanmuganathan posted on his Facebook page.
“This lopsided approach raises serious questions: Why is there so much noise about RM10 paracetamol strips in corner clinics, yet so little transparency on RM10 million procurement contracts?
“Real reform must start where the biggest leakages occur. Until then, singling out GPs for price policing is not only unfair — it’s a distraction from systemic dysfunction.”
CodeBlue reported Wednesday a maelstrom of drug procurement issues in government that have triggered widespread anxiety in the pharmaceutical industry across both multinational corporations (MNCs) and local generics manufacturers.
These include the procurement of locally made generics that cost 100 per cent to 200 per cent more than equivalent off-patent innovator medicines; delays in issuing new national tenders as current contracts expire, risking artificial drug shortages; and the local blistering of cheap medications from China and India.
Other concerns include the Ministry of Finance (MOF) no longer publishing the value of competing bids in pharmaceutical tenders, pharmaceutical MNCs’ reluctance in launching new drugs in Malaysia, and insufficient government support for the local generics industry.
“While MOH and KPDN (Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry) pressure private GPs for price transparency, backed by CAP (Consumers’ Association of Penang), Fomca (Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations), and allies, it’s ironic and alarming that the government’s own drug procurement is riddled with opaqueness, direct negotiations, and prices inflated by 100 to 200 per cent for generics,” said Association of Private Practitioners Sabah (APPS) immediate past president and founding president Dr James Jeremiah.
“How can MOH preach consumer rights while sidelining MNCs, delaying tenders, and forcing hospitals into overpriced emergency purchases? Even local generics are losing out to cheap imports blistered locally under questionable policies.
“This is regulatory double standards at its worst. We urge PMX and the health minister to investigate these procurement practices immediately. The rakyat deserves affordable medicines and a procurement system that is fair, transparent, and accountable.”
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has yet to announce moving the retail medicine price display mandate away from KPDN’s jurisdiction to the MOH, even as the three-month grace period for enforcement, which started on May 1, will be up soon by the end of this month.
Neither has he announced the outcome of a June 23 meeting by an executive committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi about reviewing GPs’ consultation fees that have stagnated for more than three decades.
A government doctor said that after publication of CodeBlue’s report about drug procurement, many doctors from a public hospital in the northern region complained about being told that supplies of certain commonly used medications might become unavailable soon due to “supply issues”. These even affect specialty clinics or departments.
“We seriously don’t know what’s happening,” the doctor told CodeBlue.
