DAP woman urges Finance Ministry to reconsider SST on traditional, complementary medicine

SIBU (Jan 5): The Finance Ministry has been called on to reconsider the imposition of Sales and Services Tax (SST) on traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) though it is only applicable to the medical services and not the products offered by alternative medicine providers.

Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak Political Education Bureau director Irene Chang said this in view that TCM services have been recognised and certified internationally and currently, the global trend is to integrate and combine the TCM services with western and modern medicine.

“In Malaysia, TCM is a legitimate practice that is recognised by the Ministry of Health. Indeed, more and more hospitals in Malaysia, including our Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching and Hospital Likas in Sabah, are offering the practice of both western and TCM medicine alongside each other in some departments in their healthcare system.

“For the private TCM medical practitioners, the government has been encouraging them to register with the Traditional & Complementary Medicine (T&CM) Council since March 2021 and starting Feb 29, 2024, all of them are required to register with the Council before they are allowed to carry on with their practice.

“This is a clear recognition by the Ministry of Health of the importance of TCM medicine in ensuring the best healthcare delivery to Malaysians,” she said in a statement yesterday.

She said the Finance Ministry should thus work in tandem with the Ministry of Health, in not imposing SST on the delivery of TCM medicine, be it in services and products.

She urged the ministry to revisit the guidelines dated Sept 21, 2021 of the Customs Department to direct that the medical services and products offered by the registered TCM practitioners should be parked in the excluded list of Group C of Table 1 which provides for both the list of taxable services and the excluded list.

“Therefore, the excluded list should include any facilities registered under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Service Act 1998, any government healthcare facilities, any facilities managed by any university established under the Universities and University College Act 1971 or Universiti Teknologi Mara Act 1976 for healthcare purpose and any facilities registered under the Traditional & Complementary Medicine Council.” she added.

She said she understood with the huge current government debt, the Finance Ministry is eager to increase the government revenue in order to better provide for public services and infrastructure and other needs of the people.

“However, I call on the Finance Ministry to re-strategise this step as the government should give top priority to encourage people to spend more on their well-being and healthcare needs, in particular, to address the pandemic-related healthcare needs of the people which may be met through TCM medicine.

“With the imposition of SST and which is to be increased to eight per cent in March 2024, this would deter many people from spending more on their well-being and healthcare needs,” she pointed out.