GPs to march to PMO in protest of drug price display rule
Private GPs will gather at the health ministry's headquarters in Putrajaya at 10am on Tuesday before marching to the Prime Minister's Office.
PETALING JAYA : Private general practitioners (GPs) will march from the health ministry's headquarters to the Prime Minister's Office in protest of the mandatory display of drug prices, which comes into effect tomorrow.
The protest organised by the Malaysian Medical Association's private general medical practitioners section will be held on Tuesday, with doctors to gather outside the health ministry's office in Putrajaya at 10am.
The section's chairman, Dr Parmjit Singh Kuldip Singh, said the peaceful protest would comply with the law and that the necessary approvals would be obtained.
'We demand consultation. We demand justice. Join the march, make your voice heard,' said a poster promoting the march.
MMA president-elect Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo shared the poster on X, saying the policy was 'strangling' GPs, who were not consulted on the matter.
'If you want healthcare costs to be sustainable, strengthen GPs, don't strangle us. This walk to Putrajaya is not just symbolic, it's a plea for survival,' he said.
Earlier, MMA slammed Putrajaya for going ahead with the enforcement of the mandatory drug price display rule, particularly for failing to consult GPs and implementing the policy under a non-medical law.
MMA president Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira also called out health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, saying he had promised that the price display rule would only be implemented after a review of GP consultation fees.
Consultation fees have remained unchanged in the last 30 years.
Kalwinder also said the minister had promised to meet with MMA and other stakeholders again to address concerns about the policy, but there had not been any meeting.
The health ministry today announced that medicine price display at clinics would be mandatory starting tomorrow, a move strongly opposed by MMA and other medical groups.
They argue that the rule should fall under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 – not the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.
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