Medicine Prices Must Be More Transparent Says Anwar

---

 
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government wants to ensure that medicine prices are more transparent.PETALING JAYA: The government is looking to develop a mechanism to ensure that medicines are priced more competitively, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
In a statement, Anwar said that having a “price display mechanism” will lead to transparent medicine pricing and ensure that the public can make more informed decisions.
“It has become one of the government’s priorities to ensure that the mechanism for the sale of medicine is more transparent for the benefit of the public,” said Anwar after chairing a National Action Council on Cost of Living (Naccol) meeting.
Last year, then health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the ministry was looking into developing a price transparency mechanism that would require pharmaceutical companies to reveal the selling price of crucial medicines, especially those used to treat cancer.
Khairy told the Dewan Rakyat that this mechanism was necessary as there was currently no transparency from pharmaceutical firms on the matter.
Anwar also said today’s Naccol meeting discussed price controls for standard whole chicken and chicken eggs that had been in place since February 2022.
“It is important to finalise the price controls for chicken and eggs to ensure the sustainability of the supply chain,” said Anwar.
Touching on the controversy surrounding Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd and its DuitNow QR service, Anwar said today’s meeting received clarification from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) that major banks and e-wallet service providers accepting payments via DuitNow QR would continue to waive transaction fees for micro and small businesses.
He also said that PayNet would allocate resources to help cover the costs incurred by payment service providers, especially non-bank providers, that continue to offer full exemptions to micro and small businesses.
PayNet is the organisation responsible for overseeing the country’s payment systems. BNM is PayNet’s largest shareholder, while 11 financial institutions, including Maybank, Public Bank and CIMB, are joint shareholders.
On Wednesday, PayNet confirmed that vendors would be charged a transaction fee for payments received via the DuitNow QR code platform from Nov 1, adding that the fee was not new and would not affect the prices of goods and services.
Several banks have said they will postpone imposing the fee or will waive it until the end of the year. - FMT

---