From Vicknasingam B Kasinather
I am responding to the suggestion by our former health minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, to allow the export of ketum to other countries. Khairy also suggested forming a ketum board to regulate the industry.
While I don’t agree with the suggestion of exporting ketum, I think forming a board or a coordinating agency is needed.
To my knowledge, ketum is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). While I have some understanding on how ketum is being imported to the US, suffice to say that they are not regulated, and the safety standards are not adhered to as the importers circumvent the various state laws in the US. We do not want to export ketum to an unregulated market that does not adhere to proper safety standards.
The higher education ministry, through its higher education centre of excellence (Hicoe) programme, designated and funded the drug research centre at Universiti Sains Malaysia, to conduct research on ketum.
The centre’s initial fundamental research findings have been used by the international research fraternity to build the body of knowledge in understanding the science of ketum. This has been acknowledged internationally by ketum researchers around the globe.
Moving from fundamental research, the centre conducted the first human double-blind placebo-controlled experiment and published its findings in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. In summary, there has already been substantial research on ketum conducted locally where we can move ahead to develop a pharmaceutical or nutraceutical product.
Our initial work caught the attention of international researchers. The US government is now funding American universities to also conduct research on ketum. If we regulate and export ketum legally, then we are giving our nature’s treasure to international researchers for them to obtain good quality raw material to advance their research.
We should protect our biodiversity. We need to position ourselves strategically. While we have our strengths, which I am not divulging in this article, they also have their advantages. All the hard work and money invested by the government would be wasted. We should be moving up the value chain and producing a finished product. We do not want to export raw material for pittance and import a finished product for a fortune.
Our response as a nation has been fragmented. Various agencies, ministries and researchers are conducting various activities without proper communication and coordination.
Processes and regulatory frameworks need to be reviewed and improved. A board or a coordinating agency managing and facilitating the various activities is needed. Ketum leaves can be purchased from smallholders for research. We need an abundance of good quality ketum for research.
As a nation, we are producing thousands of graduates with PhDs yearly. We need to create high-value organically grown industries to employ them. We have an opportunity with ketum. Let’s not shortchange ourselves. - FMT
Vicknasingam B Kasinather is a professor at the Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the World Drug Report, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
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