KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed Mental Capacity Act will enhance the protection of patients' rights to make medical decisions, which is currently lacking in existing laws, an expert said.
Dr Noraiza Abdul Rahman of Universiti Teknologi Mara's Faculty of Law pointed out that there are insufficient provisions in the Mental Health Act (MHA) 2001 regarding medical decision-making for patients who lack mental capacity.
"This is based on four fundamental aspects: assessment of mental capacity, consent for treatment, substitute decision-making, and advance medical decisions.
"These inadequacies demonstrate the loopholes in the existing laws, regulations, and policies in Malaysia in protecting the rights of these patients to make medical decisions," the senior lecturer in medical law said.
The proposed Mental Capacity Act, she said, is a much-anticipated law that will provide a groundbreaking piece of legislation
"When fully implemented, it will complement the provisions of the Mental Health Act.
"For us to identify the existence of overlapping (between the Mental Capacity Act and MHA), we will have to look at the provisions first in the proposed Act."
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran earlier said the proposed law, seeks to grant individuals the authority to designate trusted representatives who can make crucial legal decisions on their behalf, covering areas such as advanced medical directives, property management, and child welfare.
Aimed at empowering individuals to proactively plan their affairs through lasting power of attorney, it would allow them to make these designations preemptively, before any potential onset of mental incapacity.
He said that mental incapacity encompassed a wide range of situations, from chronic conditions like Alzheimer's to temporary incapacities resulting from medical procedures.
