Malaysian medical bodies and NGOs have come together to appeal to US President Barack Obama not to allow trade agreements that make medicine unaffordable for the sick and poor.

Ahead of Obama's visit over the weekend, the 21 groups said it faulted the US-led Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) as it allows pharmaceutical companies to renew their patents over and over again.

Sick AIDS patients in Malaysia for example can mostly only afford generic or cheaper copies of the HIV drugs. But under the TPPA, their access to these drugs may be completely cut off.

"We are asking US to treat everybody equally and fairly.

"As a big brother, they must give out more than they are taking back," Malaysian Medical Association (MMA)'s president Dr NKS Tharmaseelan told reporters at MMA HQ in Kuala Lumpur.

He said that it is US and European pharmaceuticals that were lobbying for this lopsided "ever greening" of patents rule.

They saw the appeal to US as a last resort as the Malaysian government's position on this was  inconsistent, Tharmaseelan said.

During the press conference, Malaysian Aids Council’s policy manager Fifa Rahman read out a statement which they plan to forward to all relevant government agencies as well as the foreign press as a form of protest.

The group also urged its supporters to join an assembly to do a ‘zombie-walk’ outside the Sogo Shopping Centre tomorrow evening, a protest against the TPPA organised by Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM).

'Malaysian gov't may have to bear costs'

Fifa pointed out that if after TPPA, medicine prices shoots up, then it is also the Malaysian government which may have to bear the costs.

“People eventually run out of money and turn to government hospitals for treatment,” she said.

In particular, Fifa said that the group wants the removal of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS+) from the TPPA. Even though Malaysia may be offered an exemption to TRIPS+ until it reaches high-income nation status, this must still be rejected, Fifa said.

Like the Tobacco aspect, TPPA partners must commit to a total carve out of TRIPS+ , she added.

Malaysia proposed completely carving out tobacco control measures from the TPPA during the 19th Round of the TPPA negotiations in Brunei in August 2013.

But even that didn’t satisfy Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control’s secretary-general Shaari Ahmad Junid  who noted that the government still cannot be trusted, especially under pressure from big, influential trade partners in the group.

“We are happy about the tobacco carve-out but we are still worried that there are strings attached,” Shaari said. “We must make sure that the government does not back down.”

The NGOs noted that only the Health Ministry had so far promised to block all TPPA aspects that can give rise to medicine costs.

“Bear in mind that people who negotiate TPPA are not health officials but trade people,” Shaari said.

International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed however said last month that the 12-nations involved in the TPPA deal were not going to sign anytime soon, even though some observers saw the visit of President Obama as a means to lend pressure to the deal.

Obama’s trip to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow and on Sunday marks the first visit by a US president to Malaysia in nearly 50 years.

Other NGOs which are speaking out against the TRIPS+ include Breast Cancer Welfare Association, National Cancer Society Malaysia, Hospis Malaysia, Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation and the Malaysian Mental Health Association.