Materia Medica Malaysiana

Government stops recognising five traditional medicine groups

PENANG: The Health Ministry has stopped recognising the five traditional medicine groups as representatives of genuine practitioners.

Instead, the ministry will soon form the Traditional Complementary Medicine Council to streamline the activities of such practitioners.

Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the ministry stopped recognising the five groups since July 9.

They are the Federation of Chinese Physicians and Medicine Dealers’ Association of Malaysia, Federation of Traditional Malay Medicine of Malaysia, Society of Traditional Indian Medicine, Malaysian Council for Homeopathic Medicine and Malaysian Society for Complementary Therapies.

“We have received many complaints, especially against the Federation of Chinese Physicians and Medicine Dealers’ Association of Malaysia.

“There were claims that some of these organisations had used the Health Ministry’s logo in official letters and certificates without our approval, besides conducting courses without proper accreditation.

“Some have used the terms ‘doctor’ and ‘clinic’ and solicited funds for unreasonable earnings,” Dr Chua told reporters during an official visit to the Penang Hospital yesterday.

He noted that the ministry had received several complaints against traditional medicine practitioners and consultants, claiming to have academic certificates from China that were recognised by the ministry.

“While the ministry drafts the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Act, which we hope to implement by 2006, we will soon form a Traditional Complementary Medicine Council to protect the interests of traditional medicine practitioners.

“This council will look into the registration, accreditation, ethics and training of traditional medicine practitioners as well as the quality of their products,” he said.

Dr Chua said the ministry had recently formed a 28-man division to monitor the quality and services provided by such practitioners.

It had been reported that there are now more than 3,500 such practitioners, of whom 2,221 were Chinese, Malays (300), Indians (84), homeopathy practitioners (687) and 409 who were grouped as practitioners of complementary medicine.