‘Procedures to be done only by qualified individuals’

KUALA LUMPUR: Unqualified and unregistered individuals will not be allowed to carry out any beauty procedures, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“We will not compromise on this matter because procedures involving dentists or orthodontists must be done by qualified doctors who are registered,” said Khairy.

“There is no other way around this unless they have formal training in the matter.

“We will be increasing our enforcement effort to ensure such practices by fake doctors are not carried out.”

He told reporters yesterday that such procedures are highly risky and must be done by qualified individuals.

Khairy was responding to The Star’s series of reports exposing syndicates in the beauty industry that allegedly offer short dentistry courses to anyone who wish to acquire the skills and set up their own business.

On this, he said his ministry and the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry will have an engagement session with beauty industry representatives to work out considerations.

Khairy added that the meeting would be held as industry players had requested it.

On Wednesday, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry is coming down hard on illegal dental practitioners whose activities are harmful to the public.

Dr Noor Hisham said curbing rampant illegal dental activities is a shared responsibility between those who provide and receive treatments and those who conduct unauthorised training.