KUALA LUMPUR, August 7 — The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations, Malaysia (FPMPAM) called out Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad today for his alleged failure to defend the medical profession.
In a strongly worded statement, FPMPAM president Dr Shanmuganathan Ganeson expressed “deep outrage” over decisions by the National Action Council on Cost of Living (Naccol) to mandate prescriptions and itemised billing in private medical clinics.
He pointed out that Naccol, which is chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, comprises several key ministers, including Dzulkefly.
“The full responsibility and the failure lies with the Minister of Health himself, who sat in Naccol, participated in the discussions, and failed to raise any objections when clinical matters outside KPDN’s (Domestic Trade and Cost of Living) jurisdiction were packaged and announced as policy affecting doctors,” said Dr Shanmuganathan in his second press release on the matter issued today.
“This is not just negligence; it is a betrayal of trust. Where was the minister when doctors were being told what to do? Where was the minister when KPDN officials began inspecting clinics? Where was the minister when drug price display was forced upon doctors without legal clarity?
“And now, where is the minister when a Naccol pronouncement tells doctors how to treat and charge patients? The deafening silence from the Minister of Health in all these episodes confirms what many doctors have feared: that our Minister is either complicit or absent when it comes to defending the profession.”
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Deputy Minister Fuziah Salleh told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday that Naccol has “mandated” doctors’ prescriptions and itemised billing in private medical clinics, besides mandatory drug price display that came into effect under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723) on May 1.
FPMPAM told Dzulkefly to publicly clarify his position on Naccol’s decisions and to affirm that only the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) regulate clinical practice.
“You sit in Naccol not to be a passenger, but a protector of the health system,” Dr Shanmuganathan told the health minister.
“If you will not speak for doctors, then doctors will speak for themselves — loudly, clearly, and without apology.”
The doctors’ group characterised Fuziah’s announcement in Parliament as a “direct assault on the professional autonomy of doctors.”
“Naccol is not a regulatory body. It has no legal standing to direct how doctors practice medicine.”
