Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah tells the KPDN minister that clinics are private health care services under Act 586, not retail outlets. It’s like how a customer at a mamak restaurant doesn’t need to know the price of raw chicken in a plate of nasi goreng ayam.
The recent comment by Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) Minister Armizan Mohd Ali has propelled me to explain matters in simple terms.
I would like to narrate a situation to the minister so he can understand better. I’ll use this example for his easy understanding: a doctor and their clinic can be compared to a mamak restaurant, while a chicken seller in a market or supermarket can be compared to a pharmacy, provision shop, or retail shop.
A customer goes to the market to buy chicken. He has to know the price of chicken so he can compare prices, so the KPDN ensures chicken sellers put the prices of chicken per kilo up. This is similar to pharmacies and other retail businesses selling medicine that have a retail licence to sell medicines.
A customer going to a mamak restaurant, let’s say to buy nasi goreng ayam, can be compared to a medical clinic.
He orders a nasi goreng ayam. There is no reason for KPDN to inform the customer the price of the chicken in the nasi goreng ayam because the customer does not intend to buy the raw chicken alone. Nor does the mamak restaurant have a licence to sell the raw chicken in the nasi goreng ayam separately.
This is similar to medical clinics which examine and treat patients and do not have a retail licence. Clinics do not have a retail licence to sell medicine over the counter.
Clinics are acknowledged as private health care services and are registered under the Private Healthcare Facilities & Services Act 1998 (Act 586) by the government. Pharmacies are retail outlets and not registered under Act 586.
Hence, the minister’s comments that there are no double standards is uncalled for. The minister does not understand the scenario and workflow in medical clinics.
Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah is the former president of the Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia (MPCAM).