MMA supports MTEN medicine supply measures but urges buffer stocks, transparency and local pharma capacity building
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has expressed its support for the government’s initiatives to safeguard the nation’s medicine and medical device supply chain amid the ongoing global energy crisis triggered by the conflict in West Asia, while urging authorities to further strengthen long-term resilience.
In a statement today, the MMA said measures announced by the Economy Minister through the National Economic Action Council (MTEN) were both important and timely, reflecting an appropriate response to the mounting uncertainties rippling through global supply chains.
Among the initiatives the association endorsed were the introduction of a Special Access Pathway to maintain availability of critical medicines and medical devices, centralised stock monitoring and diversification of import sources, the activation of emergency response plans, plans to establish a national strategic buffer stock, and the development of a dedicated medicine security policy under the MyMedSecure framework alongside efforts to grow the domestic pharmaceutical industry.
The Health Ministry has advised that Malaysia’s medicine supply remains stable, with no significant disruptions recorded to date.
Local manufacturers are also reported to hold sufficient stocks of both raw materials and finished products to sustain operations for several months.
While welcoming this assessment, MMA president Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo cautioned against complacency given the fluid nature of the global situation.
“The global situation remains uncertain, and we cannot rely solely on the current stability,“ he said, outlining three additional measures the association is calling on the government to pursue.
The MMA’s first recommendation is to establish strategic buffer stocks around medicines listed in the National Essential Medicines List, with a particular emphasis on treatments for chronic conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases — illnesses that affect a large and growing segment of the Malaysian population and cannot tolerate supply interruptions.
Second, the association called for greater transparency in the sharing of supply status information with the private healthcare sector. Clinics and private hospitals, it said, must be kept informed on a proactive basis to ensure continuity of patient care across all healthcare settings, not just public facilities.
Third and most expansively, the MMA urged Malaysia to treat the current crisis as a catalyst for accelerating domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in a structured and sustained manner.
Building local production capability, the association argued, is a long-term imperative for achieving genuine national health sovereignty rather than remaining dependent on external supply chains vulnerable to geopolitical disruption.
The MMA said it would continue engaging with the Health Ministry, the National Economic Action Council, and all relevant stakeholders to ensure Malaysians have uninterrupted access to essential medicines and treatment throughout the crisis and beyond.
