By Nancy Nais
KAPIT, Nov 14: It is high time for Malaysia to regulate the beauty industry for the safety of its consumers.
Since beauty services involve procedures or activities such as invasive and non-invasive treatments, the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) and other related ministries and bodies will find the best method to regulate this industry.
“Currently, this industry is unregulated. There are no specific sources of authority to regulate their activities, and this is a concern which we must address, especially when it is growing rapidly and people are earning handsomely from it, legally or illegally.
“This has to be done in an orderly and systematic manner for the safety of consumers,” caretaker KPDNHEP minister Datuk Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi told DayakDaily when he spoke about one of his ministry’s plans that they have yet to execute.
Over the years, many consumers have raised their concerns over the abundance of beauty parlours and beauticians offering therapy services, with botched cases reported as well.
Nanta said many parlous and beauticians claim they are ‘experts’ in their job and services, but instead of making their customers beautiful and happy, some end up feeling and looking the opposite.
“Of course, we have the Consumer Claims Tribunal for consumers to lodge a complaint, but that would be too late when damage has already been done.
“KPDNHEP takes proactive steps to examine various aspects in the beauty treatment industry, which include consumer demand, value chain, use of technology in current beauty treatment trends and consumer safety,” he added.
An engagement session was held between the ministry and the United Kingdom’s Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT) to discuss this matter.
VTCT is a beauty training centre recognised by Ofqual, a UK government agency that reports directly to the UK Parliament for qualification and legislation matters involving vocational training. — DayakDaily
