Latest news with #DomesticTradeandCostofLiving
The Star
4 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Doctors fight medicine price rule
Market imbalance: Doctors say unfair pharma competition harms clinics. PETALING JAYA: The medicine price display rule has been challenged in court by several doctors who want the order to be quashed. The doctors filed for a judicial review, saying the rule hurts small clinics and was introduced without proper consultation. They want the rule, which took effect on May 1, to be revoked. The lawsuit named the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, Health Minister and the Federal Government as the first, second and third respondents, respectively. The applicants are the Association of Private Practitioners, Sabah (APPS), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), the Malaysian Association for the Advancement of Functional and Interdisciplinary Medicine (Maafim), the Organisation of Malaysian Muslim Doctors (Perdim), the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM), the Malaysian Private Dental Practitioners' Association (MPDPA), the Society of Private Medical Practitioners Sarawak (SPMPS), and one Dr Saifulbahri Ahmad. The lawsuit was in relation to the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Price Marking for Drug) Order 2025, which came into effect on May 1. The medical practitioners are seeking an order of certiorari to quash the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry's Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Price Making for Drug) Order 2025 (ministry's order). According to the statement of claim of the suit filed on July 24, they are also seeking a declaration that the ministry's order was void and tainted with illegality, irrationality, unreasonableness, disproportionality and impropriety. They asked that the enforcement of the ministry's order 'insofar as its application to private healthcare facilities and/or registered medical practitioners and dentists' be stayed until the judicial review case is over. Among the grounds for the judicial review is the failure of the government to recognise the difference between drugs sold in retail and drugs administered for treatment purposes. It added that the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister had breached principles of natural justice by arriving at the decision without consulting registered medical practitioners represented by the MMA. They said that while the purpose of the regulation was to curb profiteering activities, it has created unwarranted competition among providers of drugs, with the singular denominator purely being the price of drugs. 'This means even small-scale community clinics operated by general practitioners (GPs) and specialists have to now compete with large-scale drug retailers, for example, international chain pharmacies who already enjoy a larger market control and the ability to gain further control of retail customers by selling drugs at a much lower price,' they said. They added that small-scale community clinics would be at a disadvantage if forced to enter into an unwarranted competition with large-scale pharmaceutical companies. They said drug prices in clinics are determined by variables such as manufacturers; freight charges; export or import duties; importers; distributors; volume purchased; location of the clinics; different formulations of the same product; provisions for wastage of expired unused drugs; and staff and administrative expenses. The price display rule was met with much resistance by private healthcare practitioners. A three-month grace period from May 1 has also been given, where no compounds would be issued and the government would instead focus on advocacy and education. According to the court's website, the suit is set for case management at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Aug 22.
The Star
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Private doctors file lawsuit against government over medicine price display regulation
PETALING JAYA: Doctors from the private sector are suing the government over the rule governing the display of medicine prices. This comes after several private practitioners filed for judicial review on July 24 against the government in the Kuala Lumpur High Court. The application was filed on Tuesday (July 29) by the Association of Private Practitioners, Sabah (APPS), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), the Malaysian Association for the Advancement of Functional and Interdisciplinary Medicine (Maafim), the Organisation of Malaysian Muslim Doctors (Perdim), the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM), the Malaysian Private Dental Practitioners' Association (MPDPA), the Society of Private Medical Practitioners Sarawak (SPMPS) and one Dr Saifulbahri Ahmad. The lawsuit was in relation to the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Price Marking for Drug) Order 2025, which came into effect on May 1. The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, the Health Minister and the government of Malaysia were named as the first, second and third respondents respectively. The medical practitioners are seeking an order of certiorari to quash the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry's Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Price Making for Drug) Order 2025, which is also the impugned order in this case. As part of the relief, they are also seeking a declaration that the impugned order is void as it is 'tainted with illegality, irrationality and unreasonableness, disproportionality and impropriety.' 'The enforcement of the Impugned Order, insofar as its application to private healthcare facilities and/or registered medical practitioners and dentists, be stayed until full disposal of the Applicants' application for judicial review,' read the statement of the claim of the case. Among the grounds for judicial review is the government's failure to recognise the difference between drugs sold by retail and those administered for treatment. It also added that the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister had breached principles of natural justice by arriving at the decision without consulting registered medical practitioners represented by the MMA. They said that while the purpose of the regulation was to curb profiteering activities, it has created unwarranted competition among drug providers, with the sole focus being the price of drugs. 'This means even small-scale community clinics operated by general practitioners (GPs) and specialists have to now compete with large-scale drug retailers, for example, international chain pharmacies who already enjoy a larger market control and the ability to gain further control of retail customers by selling drugs at a much lower price,' they said adding that small scale community clinics would be at a disadvantage if forced to enter into an unwarranted competition with large-scale pharmaceutical companies. They said that drug prices in clinics are determined by variables such as manufacturers, freight charges, import or export duties, importers, distributors, volume purchased, the location of the clinics, different formulations of the same product, provisions for wastage of expired or unused drugs and staff and administrative expenses. The price display rule that came into effect on May 1 was met with much resistance by private healthcare practitioners. A three-month grace period has also been given, where no compounds would be issued and the government would instead focus on advocacy and education. The case management has been set for Aug 22.
Daily Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Express
Sara recipients can shop at over 470 premises in Sabah
Published on: Saturday, July 26, 2025 Published on: Sat, Jul 26, 2025 By: Clarence Dol Text Size: Armizan presents the grand lucky draw prize to the winner. RANAU: A total of 470 supermarket and grocery premises in Sabah are now part of the 4,152 nationwide outlets where Sara recipients can use their MyKad to purchase basic necessities. Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said his Ministry is also exploring ways for the Sara aid to be used at Rahmah Madani Sales programmes (PJRM), especially in remote areas. As of July this year, RM410 million has been channelled to 830,000 STR recipients in Sabah, while RM500 million has reached 506,000 Sara recipients. Armizan, who is also Papar MP, announced this during the KPDN Carnival Tour and Buy Malaysian Goods Campaign 2025 for the Sabah Zone, held here from July 25 to 27. The event supports local entrepreneurs and promotes domestic products under the 'Let's Buy Local' theme, with KPDN targeting 2,276 PJRM series across Sabah this year and welcoming the recent RM300 million federal boost to the Rahmah initiative. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Domestic Trade Ministry to stay on alert for potential misuse following fuel subsidy rationalisation
ALOR SETAR: Proactive monitoring will be carried out at all petrol stations to prevent any misuse in the purchase of subsidised RON95 petrol by consumers once the petrol subsidy rationalisation exercise is implemented, says Dr Fuziah Salleh. The Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Minister said her ministry has anticipated various possibilities that would require enforcement officers to be more vigilant during inspections. 'KPDN has already considered possibilities such as a single MyKad being used repeatedly (to purchase subsidised petrol). 'These are among the issues we are aware of and are looking into ways to address,' she said after taking part in an Op Kesan 4.0 inspection at a supermarket here on Friday (July 25). Fuziah said the use of MyKad allows the government to track any unusual purchases or instances of RON95 petrol being pumped beyond the allowable limit for a single vehicle. She added that purchase records could help authorities detect unusual fuel transactions, enabling action to be taken, and stressed that KPDN would remain vigilant in identifying any instances of leakage or misuse. On Op Kesan 4.0, which was launched following the expansion of the Sales and Service Tax (SST) on July 1, Fuziah said 950 premises were inspected, involving 3,965 stock-keeping units (SKUs) nationwide. Of that number, 950 price information notices were issued under Section 21 of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723) and 23 complaints were received for further investigation. Op Kesan 4.0 aims to prevent traders from taking advantage by raising prices unreasonably or engaging in profiteering under the pretext of the SST adjustments. – Bernama
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Selangor coordinates JER with Rahmah Sale for wider benefits
SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government has committed to maintaining the Ehsan Rahmah Sales (JER) initiative despite the federal government's additional RM300 million allocation for the MADANI Rahmah Sales programme. Infrastructure and Agriculture Exco Datuk Izham Hashim stated that coordination between both programmes will ensure wider accessibility to affordable essentials for Selangor residents. 'We will look at their implementation (MADANI Rahmah Sales) and we will coordinate, we will not reduce our efforts because we know that more people will benefit from either the federal or state government programmes,' Izham said after attending the Ehsan Brand Frozen Product Launch Ceremony. The federal initiative, announced by Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, aims to expand sales programmes to 20,000 locations nationwide, covering parliamentary and state constituencies as well as Federal Territories zones. Key improvements include increased sales frequency, diversified essential goods based on local needs, and broader strategic partnerships. - Bernama
