A journalist calls about the haze, a dengue spike or a new screening test, and wants a doctor on record by 5pm. Saying yes can build real public trust. Saying it the wrong way can put you in front of the Malaysian Medical Council. This guide covers how media work actually happens for doctors here, and the rules that shape every step.
Updated 19 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Doctors in Malaysia can talk to the media, but not as a route to patients. The Malaysian Medical Council's 2025 guideline on dissemination of information allows practitioners to "discuss topics related to healthcare in the mass and social media" as long as the discussion is "evidence-based, scientific and rational". Advertising yourself, directly or indirectly, is still not allowed.
The rule that surprises most doctors is on press interviews. Practitioners in active practice "should avoid giving interviews expounding their personal opinions on diseases and their treatment" except through an association, an authorised organisation or an institution. In practice, good healthcare PR runs through your hospital's communications team or a professional body, puts public education first, and keeps your skills and your clinic out of the story.
For a brand, public relations means earning coverage in news, TV, radio, podcasts and online media instead of paying for ad space. For a doctor, the goal is narrower. You are there to explain, correct and reassure. Visibility follows from being useful, but it cannot be the stated aim.
That line matters because of how widely the MMC defines advertising. Its guideline treats as advertising "all those ways by which a person is made publicly known, either by himself or by others, without objection on his part, in any manner or channel which can fairly be regarded as for the purpose of obtaining patients, or promoting his own professional advantage". A glowing profile you did not ask for can still count if you let it run unchallenged.
So healthcare PR in Malaysia looks different from PR for a restaurant or a startup. Less "feature our founder", more "here is a doctor who can explain what parents should watch for this school holiday". If you want the wider picture of what doctors can and cannot publish, our guide to marketing within the MMC rules covers advertising, websites and social media. This page sticks to the media.
Most of what you need sits in one document: the MMC guideline The Dissemination of Information by Medical Professionals Including on Social Media (V2/2025), endorsed by the Council on 19 August 2025. It replaced the 2006 guideline. The Code of Professional Conduct 2019 sits behind it and bans advertising and canvassing for patients.
| Activity | What the guideline says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Press interviews | Doctors in active practice should avoid giving interviews on their personal opinions about diseases and treatment, except through an association, authorised organisation or institution. Responsibility for the content rests with the doctor or that body. | 5.7.1, 5.7.2 |
| Radio, TV and online programmes | Permitted for doctors with "the necessary knowledge and talent", if they keep to ethical standards and do not seek an advantage over colleagues. | 5.8.1 |
| Public statements | Allowed "with authority", avoiding methods that could be regarded as obtaining patients or promoting your own professional advantage. | 5.3 |
| Talks with a reporter present | You must say you do not want any report of the talk to emphasise your special skills or expertise. | 5.5.2 |
| Your photograph | Your photo and designation may appear with an interview or article on professional subjects, provided it does not draw attention to your professional skills. Photos of you performing procedures on patients are, as a rule, not allowed. | 4.1 |
| Articles and books for the public | Your name, a brief description of qualifications and your place of practice may appear, without heavy emphasis. No laudatory editorial references. | 4.14.1, 4.14.2 |
| Claims about yourself | Claiming to be the best or the only one is unethical. Claims of "firsts" or "breakthroughs" should be left to professional and academic bodies. | 2.6 |
| Product endorsement | Discouraged. If you do endorse, the product must be evidence-based and approved by the relevant regulator, with no cure claims. | 5.14.1, 5.14.2 |
| Social media | Identify yourself as a doctor, never share identifiable patient information, and no direct or indirect advertising for personal gain. | 6.2, 6.3, 6.5 |
Read section 5.7.1 closely before your next interview. It does not ban talking to journalists. It steers solo, opinion-led interviews by practising doctors towards institutional channels, and it suggests that "it may be more appropriate" to refer the reporter to a professional or academic body or a healthcare facility.
If you practise in a private hospital, this is usually the cleanest route. The hospital is an institution in the sense of section 5.7.1, it has media contacts, and it will already know the approval steps for anything that names the facility. Tell the team which topics you can speak on with authority and which awareness dates matter in your specialty. Then let them bring requests to you.
Associations and academic bodies are the other channel the guideline names. Many speak to the media on public health questions through nominated spokespeople. Offering to help with a society's public education work puts your expertise in front of journalists in the way the rules prefer, and the attribution is to the body rather than to your clinic.
Reporters need quick, accurate explanations when something is in the news. A short, sourced answer to "what should families do?" is exactly the kind of evidence-based discussion section 5.4 allows. Keep it general. The moment the answer turns into "come and see me", it becomes advertising.
Writing your own piece gives you control over accuracy. Section 4.14 allows your name, a brief line of qualifications and your place of practice "for purposes of seeking clarifications by the readers". Keep them small, and do not let the editor add praise. Note that section 4.14.3 also says an author should not allow references that identify privately owned institutions they are professionally associated with, so check with the hospital before your byline names it.
Section 5.8.1 allows broadcast and electronic media appearances. Section 5.8.2 adds a warning worth taking seriously: be very careful discussing theories and treatments that an uninformed audience could misread. Long-form podcasts are a good fit for careful explanation, and a poor fit for speculation.
Most problems in medical media work come from saying yes too quickly. Run through this before you agree to anything:
A useful test: if a colleague read the finished piece, would they see a doctor educating the public, or a doctor recruiting patients? If it is the second, change it or decline.
An agency that understands healthcare can do the groundwork: building relationships with health reporters, drafting press materials for your hospital or society, preparing you for interviews, and spotting moments where your expertise is relevant. What it cannot do is take the responsibility off you. The MMC guideline puts the content of an interview on the practitioner, and the Code of Professional Conduct 2019 forbids being associated with those who advertise or canvass on your behalf.
That is why we treat media work as one part of a wider, compliant presence: an accurate website, a properly set up Google profile and steady public education content. When a journalist searches your name after a call, what they find should match what you said on air. Our doctor personal branding work is built around those MMC limits.
Sources: MMC Guideline, The Dissemination of Information by Medical Professionals Including on Social Media, V2/2025, sections 1, 2.6, 4.1, 4.14, 5.3 to 5.14, 6.2 to 6.5. MMC Code of Professional Conduct 2019, section 4.1 on advertising and canvassing. This page is general information, not legal advice. For a specific situation, speak to your medical defence organisation or seek guidance from the Malaysian Medical Council.
Yes, with limits. The MMC's 2025 guideline allows doctors to discuss healthcare in the media if it is evidence-based, scientific and rational. But section 5.7.1 says doctors in active practice should avoid interviews giving their personal opinions on diseases and treatment, except through an association, authorised organisation or institution. Routing requests through your hospital or a professional body is the safest approach.
It can be. The MMC defines advertising as any way a doctor is made publicly known, by themselves or by others without objection, that can fairly be seen as aimed at obtaining patients or professional advantage. Educational coverage on a public health topic is usually fine. A feature that praises your skills or directs readers to your clinic can cross the line, even if you did not pay for it.
Yes. Under section 4.1 of the MMC guideline, your photograph and designation may appear with an interview or article on professional subjects, as long as reasonable care is taken that it does not draw attention to your professional skills. Photographs of doctors performing surgical or investigational procedures on patients are, as a rule, not allowed, and patient photographs need consent.
Within limits. Section 4.14.1 allows your name, a brief description of qualifications and your place of practice so readers can seek clarification, as long as none of it is given heavy emphasis. There must be no laudatory references to your status or experience, and section 4.14.3 says an author should not allow references that identify privately owned institutions they are associated with.
It can help if the agency understands the MMC rules. An agency can manage media relationships, prepare press materials and coach you for interviews. It cannot carry the responsibility for you: the content of an interview rests with the doctor, and the Code of Professional Conduct 2019 forbids being associated with anyone who advertises or canvasses for patients on your behalf.
We help Malaysian doctors build a credible, compliant presence across search, social and media, so the coverage you earn points to something solid.
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