Medical associations want access to the Pharmacy Bill before a meeting is held with the Health Ministry, saying none of their members have seen the proposed Bill.

"We need to analyse the facts and only then can there be a discussion.

"No doctor has seen the Pharmacy Bill, not even MMA (Malaysian Medical Association) or MMC (Malaysian Medical Council) members," read a joint statement.

This was in response to Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam, who said the Bill is still under review with discussions held with various parties including MMA and MMC.

The associations expressed unhappiness that MMC, which is the highest regulatory body for doctors, was represented by its secretariat instead of council members at the meeting.

They claimed that their appeal to view the bill was denied when a request was put through by MMC council members.

"We want all stakeholders to be present along in this meeting at the same sitting, not one week apart as mentioned by the minister," added the associations.

Apart from MMA and MMCA, the statement was inked by the Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia, Pertubuhan Doktor-Doktor Islam Malaysia and the Private Practitioners Association of Malaysia.

According to The Sun , Subramaniam said the discussions with other medical groups will be held on March 4, with consumer groups in the second week of March and other ministries and government agencies in the third week of March.

Following this, the minister will meet pharmacy associations and the academia. A town hall briefing will be held in April, but no date has been specified.