Reconsider SST for traditional medicine, DAP man tells govt

 

It was reported that the customs department would be imposing an 8% SST on TCM services from March.

PETALING JAYA: A government backbencher has urged the government to reconsider its decision to impose sales and service tax (SST) on traditional and complementary medicine (TCM), warning it will increase the cost of such medicines.

In a statement, DAP’s Dr Kelvin Yii said TCM should be exempted from such taxes.

The Bandar Kuching MP went on to say that traditional Chinese medicine, which falls under TCM, had been incorporated and regulated by the health ministry through the Traditional & Complementary Medicine Act 2016 as well as the national traditional and complementary medicine policy.

“In addition to that, the national health and morbidity survey 2015 shows that TCM plays an important role in the healthcare of Malaysians as it shows that almost 30% of the Malaysian population uses such services for their overall wellness.”

Yii, an adviser to former health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa, was commenting on reports that the customs department would be imposing an 8% SST on TCM services from March.

Last month, MCA deputy secretary-general, Dr Pamela Yong warned that imposing SST on TCM services would inevitably result in price increases, potentially giving rise to an underground market and unregistered “quack” TCM practitioners offering lower prices.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong had said that as the healthcare sector was generally exempted from sales tax, TCM services should receive the same benefit. - FMT