The Ministry of Health (MOH) is studying the implementation of a digital medical certificate system, known as ‘e-MC’, as a step toward curbing data manipulation, document forgery, and identity theft involving medical practitioners.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad announced that the MOH’s Digital Health Division has been directed to expedite a feasibility study to transition medical leaves onto a more secure digital platform.
“A medical certificate (MC) can only legally be issued by a treating doctor or medical officer. This is a clear-cut rule. Incidents of ethical misconduct like this are highly serious, and the ministry will not compromise on any level,” Dzulkefly said during a press conference following the launch of the ‘Cik Era Naik MRT’ program at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) MRT station today.
“This issue is a clear signal for us to start moving toward a digital framework or an e-MC system. Digitization is the way forward to minimize fraudulent abuse,” he added.
The minister’s remarks follow a recent high-profile case in Pekan, Pahang, where five individuals—including a nurse—were remanded to assist in investigations over the illegal buying and selling of fake medical certificates. The case exposed the existence of a syndicate operating under the website name ‘Holiday Master,’ which has allegedly been active in forging the names of private clinics and doctors since 2016.
