Call for supervisory body to monitor beauty industry

KOTA KINABALU: United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (UPKO) President Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau urged the government to set up a supervisory body to monitor the beauty industry in the country.

According to him, the demand for beauty science (aesthetics) is currently increasing, causing an increase in the number of practitioners in the market.

“According to a report released by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) in 2013, the cosmetics trade volume was about RM1.7 billion (USD407 million. However, for the past 40 years, there has been no specific law to regulating the beauty industry.

“Therefore, aesthetic accidents that cause injury and death have happened to consumers. This has raised public concern because the incidents were caused by unlicensed beauty practitioners, especially those who are not accredited, “he said.

The Tuaran Member of Parliament said this in a special chamber meeting at the Dewan Rakyat Parliamentary Conference, in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

Madius said the mishaps had a negative impact on the image of qualified and accredited professional practitioners.

The National Consumer Service Center (NCCC) reported that there were 1,771 cases of complaints related to beauty and aesthetics in 2018.

“The complaints include service performance, treatment methods, information confusion, unethical marketing methods, service charges, health complications, package and membership cancellations, business premises, security and fraud.

“This has caused a loss of RM18,857,458.07. Therefore, it is necessary to create a body that can self-regulate certified beauty practitioners to ensure the safety of consumers,” he said.

Commenting further, Madius informed that a selfregulatory body in the industry has made an application to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) but until now has not received any feedback.

“The company is the Association of International Certified Estheticians (AICA) which is a non-governmental/ non-profit professional organization that was established in 2015. The main objective of establishing this association is to form a complete legal eco-system for the beauty industry.

“AICA has also collaborated with the IPEC Certification Bureau, an ISO certification body accredited by the Malaysian Standards Department to strengthen the beauty profession through the awarding of ISO certificates to individuals who are qualified and meet the set criteria,” he said.