Unapproved medical adverts in Malaysia: how to spot one and where to report it

What does the law ask of a medical advert?

Malaysia treats an advert for a medicine as something that needs permission first. The Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Act 1956 sets the frame, and the Medicine Advertisements Board, known as MAB, approves the adverts. The Ministry's FAQ says approval is required before an advertisement is published to the public. The Act defines advertisement widely: it includes a notice, a label, a wrapper and an announcement by any means, and the Ministry counts internet media. A post, a story, a live sale and a marketplace listing all qualify.

Approval attaches to the advert, not only to the product. The Ministry says registration and advertising are two distinct matters, so a registered medicine still needs its advert approved. An approved advert is given a number in the form KKLIU followed by digits and an expiry date, and the number "must be displayed clearly on every advertisement". A medicine without a MAL registration number is unregistered and cannot be advertised at all.

Why is this in the news?

On 2 November 2026 The Star reported, from the Dewan Rakyat, that the Health Ministry's enforcement division removed 42,639 unapproved medical advertisements from e-commerce platforms and took action against a further 13,070 on social media, between January 2023 and December 2025. Bernama reported the Health Minister saying the ministry would monitor the misuse of e-commerce and online platforms more strictly. Those are the figures as reported. They say how many adverts were found. They do not say how many are still up, which is the part a reader scrolling tonight can affect.

What are the five tells of an unapproved advert?

1. No approval number where one is needed. An advert for a medicine, supplement or health product that shows no KKLIU number has not shown that it was approved. This is the plainest tell, because the Ministry says the number must be on every advert. A number is not proof by itself, since anyone can type digits, which is why the check below matters.

2. Cure or guarantee words. The Ministry will not accept claims beyond the indication the Drug Control Authority approved, and it prohibits leadership claims. A promised cure, a guaranteed outcome, total safety or "the best in Malaysia" claims more than any approved indication does. The Act also bars adverts that promise treatment of a list of named conditions. Treat these words as a practical sign: that is how I read these adverts as a doctor.

3. Before-and-after pictures with no number. The Ministry's FAQ allows before-and-after statements only in approved weight-loss product adverts, backed by a customer testimonial form. So the picture is not the tell. A picture used in place of an approval number is.

4. A prescription medicine offered to the public. The Ministry describes controlled medicines as those obtained only on a doctor's prescription. The Act's allowance for advertising certain medicines is for adverts confined to doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists, not for a reader on social media. That is my reading of the framework as a doctor. A weight-loss injection, an anti-wrinkle injection or a hormone sold from a feed with "DM to order" is a sign to stop.

5. Price-led offers for prescription treatments. A discount, a bundle or a countdown attached to an injection or a prescription medicine puts the sale ahead of the assessment. It is a practical sign rather than a written rule, and a strong one when it appears with any of the other four. Doctors are also held to Malaysian Medical Council advertising rules, which is why you will not find prices in this journal.

How do I check the product behind the advert?

The advert and the product are two separate checks. For the product, search the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency register: a cream carries a notification number, and an injection or slimming pen carries a MAL registration number. The step-by-step page on checking if a product is KKM approved shows the search. If your concern is a counterfeit pen, the article on fake Ozempic and Mounjaro pens covers what to look at on the pen itself, so it is not repeated here.

The honest limit: a product can be registered and the advert still unapproved, and the reverse. Check both, and ask the seller for the MAL number and the KKLIU number in writing. A seller who cannot give either has answered the question.

Where do I report an unapproved advert?

For an advert that shows no approval or no KKLIU number, the FAQ says members of the public may lodge a complaint at Sispaa KKM, at moh.spab.gov.my. For an unregistered product, it says complaints can be made by phone, by email, online, or at the nearest Pharmacy Enforcement Branch office.

The platform where you saw the advert has its own report button, and using it takes seconds. Keep a screenshot with the date and the account name before you do, because the advert may be removed. If you have already used a product and had a reaction, how to report a side effect in Malaysia is the right page, and what to do after an aesthetic treatment goes wrong covers the first steps.

What a legitimate clinic advert looks like

A clinic is itself a source of adverts, and a private clinic's own adverts also go to the Board for approval. A clinic worth trusting explains, names the doctor, and leaves the decision to an assessment. What must be in the room before any injection is the checklist for the visit itself. An advert can open the conversation. It cannot replace a doctor examining you.