‘There are existing legal provisions to protect public from quacks’

Report by HANIS ZAINAL and CLARISSA CHUNG 

PETALING JAYA: Although professional mental health practitioners say regulation in the industry still leaves much to be desired, there are existing legal provisions to protect the public from quacks.

Lawyer Muhammad Akram Abdul Aziz said the public are able to seek legal recourse from quack psychologists and counsellors with a number of Acts – the Counsellors Act 1998, the Allied Health Professions Act 2016 and the Penal Code.

Under the Counsellors Act, he said, Sections 44 and 45 provide for punishment for anyone who forges a practising certificate or impersonates a counsellor; the offender faces a maximum RM10,000 fine or two years’ jail, or both.

For fake psychologists, he noted that there is no Psychology Act in force at the moment, though it has been proposed by psychological associations.

“However, with regard to bogus psychologists, the public are not without protection despite the absence of a specific Act akin to Counsellors Act,” he said.

“Clinical psychologists are listed as one of the professions bound by the Allied Health Professions Act.

“Sections 35 until 37 of the Act do provide the types of offences to cover these bogus psychologists.”

A person who impersonates an allied health practitioner can be subject to a fine up to RM50,000 or imprisonment up to two years, or both.

Muhammad said the public may also refer to the Penal Code to seek legal redress against false mental health practitioners, citing Sections 415 to 420.

Under Section 416 and 419, a person who “cheats by personation” or by pretending to be some other person may face a jail term of up to seven years or a fine, or both.

Meanwhile, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said clinical psychologists will soon be regulated under the Allied Health Professions Act 2016.

“Once the Act is enforced, a council known as the Malaysian Allied Health Profession Council (MAHPC) will be established and empowered to regulate all related services and activities in the country,” he said.

Site visits by the Health Ministry to reprimand unqualified clinical psychologists are also currently not in place, he added.

“Once the Act comes into force, MAHPC and the regulatory section of the Allied Health Sciences Division will play an essential role in strengthening protection for the patients,” he said.

He, however, said there will not be any specific occupational licensing requirement for general psychologists as they will be self-regulated.

“A person who is qualified with the speciality of counselling psychology will be employed as a counsellor, whereas a person who is qualified in the speciality of clinical psychology will be employed as a clinical psychologist.

“Apart from that, others will be employed as general psychologists,” he defined.

Counsellors are regulated by the Board of Counsellors, said its president Assoc Prof Dr Wan Marzuki Wan Jaafar.

He said the board, which is under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, also checks the websites and social media sites for counselling services that are advertised.

Site visits to centres where counselling services are offered are also regularly conducted, he added.