KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 — The Medical Act 1971 doesn’t empower the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) to grant a waiver to medical practitioners to practise without a valid annual practising certificate (APC), two lawyers said.
Genevieve Vanniasingham, an advocate and solicitor practising at RDS Partnership, as well as Manmohan S Dhillon, a partner at P.S. Ranjan & Co., both said the MMC lacks legal authority to allow doctors to practise without a valid and current APC, and that it remains a criminal offence under the Medical Act to do so.
“The MMC does not have legal authority to permit doctors to practice without a valid APC, and it remains an offence to practise medicine without a valid APC,” Genevieve told CodeBlue when contacted.
Manmohan said Section 20 of the Medical Act does not contain any provision for “immunity or amnesty” if there is no valid APC, adding that Section 4A(2)(d) only provides for MMC to approve or refuse the registration or certification of practitioners.
Section 20(7) of the Medical Act states that a fully registered medical practitioner who practises medicine, surgery, or obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G), and who does not have an APC in force, shall be guilty of an offence under the Act. These doctors are also prohibited from collecting any fee during the time without an APC.
However, Manmohan said if criminal investigations are initiated against a medical practitioner for practising without a valid APC, the court will likely show sympathy to the doctor who did everything necessary to file their application on time.
“It was not the fault of the practitioner that led to the delay in obtaining a valid APC. The delay caused by the MMC cannot be used to punish the innocent medical practitioner,” he said.
“The public prosecutor who has wide discretion over the decision to prosecute is likely to take into consideration that the delay was caused by the MMC and not the practitioner and is likely to decide that there will be no need to prosecute the practitioner.”
In a statement last Saturday, the MMC announced that doctors who complied with requirements and submitted complete applications for their 2026 APC by December 31, 2025, would be permitted to practise medicine pending issuance of their certificate, amid a backlog of reportedly tens of thousands of applications.
When asked if MMC’s January 3 press statement could hold up in court in a malpractice lawsuit, both Genevieve and Manmohan said the lack of a valid APC itself does not constitute negligence or malpractice.
“While the press statement may be relied upon as contextual background, it does not exempt doctors or health care facilities from legal action,” said Genevieve.
The lawyer advised medical practitioners to consult their medical indemnity provider about coverage during the period when they’re awaiting APC issuance.
“Coverage, if any, will depend on the specific terms, conditions, and exclusions of the applicable policy,” said Genevieve.
“While an insurer may take into account the MMC’s directive that medical practitioners who have submitted complete applications for their 2026 APC by December 31, 2025 and have complied with the requisite requirements may continue to practise medicine pending the issuance of the APC, such directive does not of itself guarantee insurance coverage.”
Manmohan advised doctors who submitted APC applications on time to “put up a notice” stating that their certificate has yet to be issued by the MMC “and that any queries regarding his APC should be addressed to the MMC.”
The lawyer also explained that MMC saying that the effective date of an APC for applications submitted on time will commence on January 1, 2026, or in accordance with the date of professional indemnity coverage, wasn’t a question of “backdating”.
“If a medical practitioner has filed the application in time, then the APC will be valid from January 1 until December 31 of that year despite the administrative delays on the part of the MMC.”
Manmohan added that the requirement for a valid APC isn’t mentioned in the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 or the Poisons Act 1952.
