Letter to Editor
THE Health Ministry’s recent directive requiring pharmacies to display the prices of medicines is a welcome step toward empowering consumers.
In a climate of rising living costs and medical inflation, such transparency helps Malaysians make informed decisions, promotes fair pricing, and encourages healthy competition.
It is a policy that trusts the rakyat with information and assumes that the public is capable of making rational choices—a principle that should guide all consumer-facing regulations.
But the very same ministry is also reminding retailers that the display of legal tobacco products remains prohibited. This contrast is puzzling. On one hand, visibility is seen as a tool to protect consumers; on the other, it is treated as a threat that must be hidden.
This inconsistency raises an important question: is our regulatory philosophy grounded in transparency or in selective suppression?
The tobacco display ban, while well-intentioned, has had the unintended effect of pushing the legal market further into the shadows. Many small retailers have noted the difficulty in competing with illicit cigarette sellers, who operate with impunity and without the burden of compliance.
When legitimate brands are hidden from view, it becomes harder for customers—especially in rural or lower-income areas—to differentiate between genuine and illegal products.
Meanwhile, the medicine price rule rightly assumes that information is power. It seeks to prevent overcharging and to strengthen public trust in the health system.
If this logic holds for painkillers and antihistamines, why does it not apply to regulated tobacco products, which are still legally sold and taxed by the government?
This is not an argument in favour of smoking. Rather, it is a call for coherence. If we are serious about consumer rights, enforcement efficiency, and market integrity, then all policies—regardless of how morally charged the product may be—should be held to the same standard of logic and effectiveness.
The public deserves regulations that are consistent, practical, and rooted in evidence and not shaped by optics alone. – April 16, 2025
Aloysius Tan
Petaling Jaya
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image: The Star
