MMA welcomes stricter regulation of beauty, aesthetics industry
KUCHING: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) welcomes the government’s decision to engage with stakeholders and look into stricter regulation of the beauty and aesthetics industry, said its president Dr Koh Kar Chai.
In a statement yesterday, he said that social media is abound with many advertisements of miraculous beauty products and treatments.
“We are appalled by how people are taken in by claims of various beauty products and treatments. Many are drawn to the claimed results and are willing to pay top notch fees.
“We often hear of botched results with some scarred for life if indeed they have escaped without the loss of their lives,” he said.
In Malaysia, he added, medical doctors who provide aesthetic services need to obtain extra credentialing to do so.
“Doctors who do plastic surgery need to undergo specialist post graduate training in order to be a registered plastic surgeon. Many beauticians have trained hard to be certified professionals. We urge the authorities to come down hard on the establishments which are marring the face of the beauty industry,” he said.
However, Dr Koh noted that beauticians and beauty centres do have a place in the business of aesthetics.
“We cannot discount the services they have been giving, and many are doing a wonderful job in making their clientele feel confident in themselves after having been given an aesthetic makeover.
“There is a line drawn to define what a beautician is allowed to do and in a broad sense, everyone knows that surgical procedures are prohibited.
However, anecdotally, we still hear of aesthetic surgical procedures being done by persons claiming to be professionals. These procedures are claimed to be done in the beauty centres or at times in hotel rooms,” he said.
On the dental aesthetic industry, Dr Koh said it has also been in the news over the discovery that there are individuals and establishments offering training in some dental procedures, with many dealing with the application of braces to correct their dental alignment.
“Dental doctors undergo training for years before being allowed to provide dental treatment and this includes orthodontic treatment. There is a need for professional assessment before deciding on the treatment to achieve a desired outcome.
“Though these unqualified individuals who offer dental correction procedures do not come across as dangerous individuals, they can nonetheless do harm to their clientele,” he said.
Dr Koh said that one of the reasons as to why many, especially the young, resort to such activities is the high cost of orthodontic correction which can run into thousands of ringgit – charges that are out of reach for the young.
“I won’t be surprised if beauty establishments offer dental improvements on top of their other aesthetic services.
“We are pleased that the government is now taking steps to properly regulate the industry and is looking into the guidelines needed which outline the types of services allowed in a beauty establishment,” he said.