KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — A controversial TikTok Live broadcast, purportedly by a senior Health Ministry officer, has drawn backlash from private doctors, who accuse the ministry of bypassing legal channels to impose new billing requirements on clinics.

The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) said the guidance given by Mohemmad Redzuan Mohd Rizal, a senior officer from the Pharmaceutical Services Programme (PSP), over a TikTok Live session, was inappropriate and lacked legal basis.

“This announcement, made over social media without any formal directive, circular, or legal amendment, is a gross overreach,” FPMPAM president Dr Shanmuganathan Ganeson said in a statement today.

The group stressed that doctors operate under different legislation – namely the Medical Act 1971 and the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586) – and not the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (Act 723), which typically governs retail pricing and is under the purview of the Domestic Trade Ministry.

“Doctors are not retailers. The itemisation of consultation fees, procedures, and medications is a matter of clinical governance – not pharmaceutical jurisdiction,” Dr Shanmuganathan said.

He added that while itemised billing is currently available upon request, making it mandatory without proper legislative backing or stakeholder consultation was “legally flawed and professionally inappropriate.”

FPMPAM also warned that unbundling services to comply with forced itemisation could lead to higher costs for patients – the opposite of the government’s goal of improving affordability.

The group wants MOH to:

  • Clarify the scope and application of Act 723 in relation to private clinics
  • Stop issuing unofficial instructions via social media platforms
  • Engage healthcare stakeholders in proper consultation before any enforcement measures.

“We support ethical transparency but reject attempts to reduce medical care to a retail transaction,” said Dr Shanmuganathan, adding that healthcare must remain patient-centred and professionally regulated.

MOH has yet to publicly respond to the concerns raised.