The government has just announced that the new ceiling price for three-ply face masks will be further reduced to RM1 from RM1.50 without any grace period. While we laud the government’s efforts in trying to make face masks more affordable to the masses, we sincerely hope that the government will consult more stakeholders, especially those representing pharmacists, namely the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society, Sarawak Pharmaceutical Society and Sabah Pharmaceutical Society before making such decisions that have far-reaching consequences.
Firstly, we would like to bring to the government's attention that there are many grades of face masks currently sold in the market. The medical-grade masks which are only used by our healthcare professionals at the frontline settings have much better bacterial and viral filtration compared to non-medical grade face masks. Medical Grade masks will be 95% above filtration compare to non-medical grade which will be merely 65% to 80%. The cost of manufacturing for a medical-grade three-ply face mask is much higher. Therefore, we would like to urge the government to set ceiling prices for different grades of three-ply masks instead of a blanket price for medical masks only. The government should also consider reinforcing the requirements of newly manufactured face masks being registered with the Medical Device Authority (MDA) now that face mask manufacturing has resumed normally to prevent subpar imports.
Secondly, we would like to urge the government to take into consideration the extra logistical costs of bringing the medical-grade face masks over to Sabah and Sarawak. With sea freights and air cargo volume still expensive, the cost is always higher in East Malaysia.
Thirdly, with the sudden announcement of the price decrease, our community pharmacies are forced to sell at a loss as they keep high volume of stocks of good medical-grade masks for the public (which were purchased at a higher cost). Further, by reducing the ceiling price drastically to RM1 or lower, it may inadvertently encourage the production of substandard face masks, thus defeating the purpose of providing vital protection to the rakyat.
Fourthly, the government can consider subsidising face masks for the B40 group of Malaysians instead of forcefully decreasing the ceiling price. Our community pharmacies are ever ready to assist in the distribution to ensure the free/subsidized face masks reaches those that truly need them.
Finally, we would also like to once again remind the public to purchase face masks from reputable sources. Try to avoid buying face masks from online platforms or any shops as their quality is not guaranteed.
Together we can continue to protect one another during the COVID-19 epidemic.
#kitajagakita
Amrahi bin Buang
President
Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society
Susan Tang
President
Sarawak Pharmaceutical Society
Jemima Ho
President
Sabah Pharmaceutical Society
ABOUT US
The Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS) is the national association for pharmacists formed on Nov 6, 1967 to promote and maintain the honour and interests of the profession in the country.
Our motto is “Service Towards a Healthy Society”.
MPS plays an important role to further the development of pharmacy and pharmaceutical education and to foster intra-professional relationship among members.
We strive to improve the Science of Pharmacy by fostering the publication of scientific and professional information relating to the practice of pharmacy and assists in the development and stimulation of discovery, invention, and research.
MPS is the voice of the profession and represents the interests of its members and the public. It has representatives in the Pharmacy Board, the Poisons Board, Drug Control Authority and Medicine Advertisement Board.
MPS is a member of and has members representing the society in, the National Antimicrobial Resistance Committee, Malaysian National Medicines Policy Working Committee, Traditional and Complementary Medicine Committee, National Committee on Clinical Research, MIMS Pharmacy Editorial Advisory Board, Technical Committee for Halal Pharmaceuticals Standards and Halal Medical Devices Standard, mQuit Services Committee, Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control, and Malaysian Professional Centre.
The Society's international affiliation includes the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association and the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Association (FAPA).
