The government is finalising a new policy to make it compulsory for healthcare facilities and community pharmacies to display medicine prices, says the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.
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NewsTranscript
00:00The immediate approach that we can take,
00:04which we see is a quick win,
00:07which does not involve a large financial implication,
00:10is how it was discussed in the Nakol meeting on 3 October 2023.
00:19At that time, it was decided that the Ministry of Health,
00:23together with the KPDN,
00:25must implement the so-called MKSU,
00:34Mekanisme Ketelusan Harga Ubat.
00:36It was decided at that time
00:37so that the procedure was taken by the KKM and the KPDN.
00:41What is the Mekanisme Ketelusan Harga Ubat?
00:44It is for us to oblige any industry,
00:49health facilities,
00:51to disclose the price of medicines on their premises.
00:56So that the people can get information.
01:01The people can make choices
01:05because the right to get information
01:08and the right to choose
01:11are two of the eight universal rights of users.
01:17And users are also the universal rights of the people.
01:20So, as well as the Nakol decision,
01:24the KPDN and the KKM have planned to make a series of engagements,
01:29to see what procedures we can use,
01:33to recognize the power of the government,
01:36and then we have, alhamdulillah,
01:39brought a Memorandum of Understanding of the Ministerial Committee together.
01:43The KPDN and the KKM,
01:45on 8 January 2025,
01:49I have discussed with the Minister of Health,
01:52and alhamdulillah,
01:55the Ministerial Committee has passed the Memorandum of Understanding,
01:59where one order will be issued
02:04under the Act of Controlling Prices and Anti-Unification,
02:08under the AQAP,
02:09an order to oblige these health facilities
02:16to disclose the price of medicines on their premises.
02:21So, we are waiting,
02:24even though the AQAP is under the control of the KPDN,
02:30but we are waiting from the Ministry of Health
02:36so that the draft of the order can be finalized
02:41and the date of the draft of the order can be set.
02:49With regards to the drug trafficking mechanism,
02:53in January 1st,
02:57but recently there has been a negative feedback
03:01regarding the view of the opposition
03:04against the mechanism.
03:06How can we be sure that it can be enforced on 1st May?
03:10Okay, as I mentioned earlier,
03:12even though the key to power
03:15and the order will be issued under the AQAP,
03:20under the laws of the KPDN,
03:24but it also depends on the Ministry of Health.
03:33Alhamdulillah,
03:34the announcement made by the Minister of Health recently,
03:38I think after,
03:41even though it is a series of engagements,
03:44that has been done before the decision was made,
03:48but there is a certain opposition.
03:52And after he met with the opposition,
03:56he still gave a commitment that
04:00this order will be enforced on 1st May.
04:05And I hope as a minister who is responsible for drugs,
04:09as a ministry that has a sense of the cost of living,
04:13it is our responsibility to look at the cost of people's lives,
04:17I really hope that
04:20we can enforce the order under the AQAP
04:25in relation to the responsibility
04:28to issue the drug price on 1st May.
04:31And there are certain parties who say
04:34why it is relevant to be under the AQAP,
04:38I have explained earlier.
04:40And I want to remind you
04:42that what we will do through this order
04:48is just to raise the price
04:53so that people have access to information on drug prices
04:59and then make a choice
05:02to get information and to choose.
05:06We are not going through this order
05:09to control drug prices.
05:12No.
05:13This order is to enforce drug prices,
05:18not to control drug prices.