Research on T&CM still low - Dr Lee

 KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 (Bernama) -- Local universities and institutions should put in more effort to carry out research on traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) in Malaysia, which according to Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye is still low. 

He said that scientific research on local traditional medicine was vital for the domestic data base as it had strong historical and cultural roots as well as suitable to the local setting.

“We need to collect such data from our own research using our own samples since Malaysia is a tropical country with multi-ethnic and multi-cultural backgrounds,” he said in his speech at the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA), here today.

The MoA was signed by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) president Prof Datuk Dr Chuah Hean Teik, Hai-O Enterprise Berhad Group executive chairman Tan Kai Hee and Tung Shin Hospital president Tan Sri Khoo Chai Kaa. 

Through the agreement, the three parties were set to collaborate on a research project to determine the syndrome differentiation of breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant traditional Chinese medicine.

Dr Lee added that despite the fact that the domestic healthcare system was very much based on conventional western medicine, T&CM was widely practiced and used.

“In the 2015 NHMS (National Health and Morbidity Survey) report, 29 per cent of Malaysian were reported to have used T&CM,” he said.

To date, Malaysia has 15 public hospitals which provide T&CM treatments ranging from acupuncture to herbal medicine such as adjunctive therapy for cancer and traditional post-natal therapies.

-- BERNAMA