No problem for Najib to get his own supply of medicine, says Khairy

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin says Najib Razak can buy his own medicine from other sources if he does not want to accept the medication provided by the health ministry.

He also said that the family members of the former prime minister had been informed of the matter.

"But I understand that even in prison, Najib brings his own medicine. So we do not have any problems if he wants to get his own supply of medicine, but I understand he had been brought to Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) and as such, he can only use the medicines prescribed to him," he said to reporters after an event in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. 

He was responding to media reports quoting lawyer Zaid Ibrahim urging the health ministry to give Najib the medicine that the former prime minister is used to taking for his high blood pressure condition.
 
Khairy said he had reviewed the prison regulations under which the prison authorities would inspect the supply of medicines given by a prisoner’s family before giving it to the prisoner.

"At HKL, I have been informed by the director that we practise the same procedure. So if in prison, he can use his own medicine. We will not deny him (taking the necessary medicines).

"Today, before he is discharged, in the usual practice at government hospitals, we will provide him with the medicine issued by the hospital pharmacy. The medicines from our hospital in the ministry are generic medicines," he said.

On Sept 13, Khairy announced that Najib who had been warded in HKL on Monday was stable and would continue to receive treatment at the hospital.