KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 -- Malaysia's private doctors have strongly opposed a new government rule requiring clinics to display medicine prices, warning it could harm patients, raise healthcare costs, and reduce medical professionals to retailers.

The Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations Malaysia (FPMPAM) said the move starting May 1 risks turning doctors into retailers and undermining the clinical process behind medical prescriptions.

Its president, Dr Shanmuganathan TV Ganeson, said the policy wrongly treats medicines as shelf products, rather than regulated substances prescribed based on professional judgment.

He criticised Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali for using populist compar...