KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 22): The High Court on Wednesday allowed a group of doctors to challenge a government directive that requires clinics to display the prices of their medicines.
Judge Alice Loke Yee Ching granted the permission in online proceedings on Wednesday afternoon after both parties, including the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), representing the government, consented not to oppose the application, subject to minor amendments.
The decision was confirmed by counsel K Shanmuga, who appeared with Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar and Ngeow Chow Ying for the doctors, and senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin for the AGC, when separately contacted by The Edge.
With leave or permission now granted, the merits of the judicial review will be heard at a later date.
The doctors' challenge
Dr PR Deva Das and seven other doctors filed the judicial review in July.
They are challenging the requirements set by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry and the Health Ministry for the mandatory display of medicine prices across all private healthcare facilities — including private clinics, aesthetic clinics, and community pharmacies — from 2026. This initiative is part of the government's efforts to improve public access to drug price information.
In their application, the doctors sought a certiorari — an order from a higher court — to quash the order issued by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry on April 24 this year, that requires the healthcare facilities to display the prices.
Alternatively, they sought a certiorari to quash the controversial government directive as it applies to private entities.
They further sought a declaration that the controversial directive from the Domestic Trade Ministry is defective on the grounds that it is not valid in law, disproportionate, and not logical in terms of procedure.
As a final alternative, they want a declaration that the Domestic Trade Ministry's order is not applicable to private healthcare, medical practitioners, and dentists. They also sought a stay of the requirement, pending the termination or disposal of their application.
The government's stance
Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni told the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) in August that the initiative aims to enable the public to "make informed choices by knowing the prices they need to pay and to encourage competitive medicine pricing".
The ministry also stated that it "will conduct a capsule medicine monitoring study beginning September 2025 to assess the impact of implementing medicine price transparency."
Lukanisman said that as of July 31, 2025, 55% — or 1,639 — of private healthcare facilities nationwide had satisfactorily complied with the requirement. He noted that "45%, or 739 facilities, have yet to meet compliance standards, with issues including incomplete price listings or displays that are not easily accessible to patients."