Climate change raises dengue risk

The Star
BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: Half of the world’s seven billion people will be at risk of getting dengue if minimum temperatures in certain regions continue to rise, warned the first ever global mapping report on dengue vulnerability.

According to Mapping Global Vulnerability to Dengue using the Water Associated Disease Index, while South-East Asia and South Asia already faced the highest levels of vulnerability to dengue, western and central Africa, as well as parts of Europe and the mountainous regions of South America would be affected if minimum temperatures there continue to rise.

“The increase due to climate change alone would more than double the number of those at risk to an estimated 3.5 billion,” said the report published by the United Nations University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health (Unu-Inweh) on the university’s website yesterday.

Vulnerability in this case is determined by exposure and susceptibility, the latter influenced by access to healthcare, clean water, decent housing, dengue control measures and government policies.

Aedes mosquito eggs are rendered non-viable at temperatures below -2°C. But should minimum temperatures rise by a few degrees, the eggs could survive, putting large populations at risk of exposure to the mosquito.

While the authors noted that a rise in temperatures could make the environment too hot for mosquitoes in some places, overall warmer climates were expected to facilitate the spread of dengue both northwards and southwards of the equator.

The report also noted that Brazil reported the largest number of dengue cases – about 450,000 from 2004 to 2010.

It also listed Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, Venezuela, Thailand, the Philippines, Colombia, Malaysia and Honduras as among the top 10 countries where dengue is endemic.

“Climate change is increasing dengue vulnerability in some regions and there is a pressing need for improved waste management and sanitation in urban areas as part of a wider public health response,” said Dr Anthony Capon, director of Unu’s Malaysia-based International Institute for Global Health at the UKM Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Close to 400 million people today are infected by the virus, causing between 250,000 and 500,000 severe cases annually and some 20,000 deaths.

CIJ calls on MCMC to rethink fine decision over BFM radio interview

The STar
BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) wants the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to rescind the fine imposed on BFM radio over an interview with an Islamic scholar.

Its director Sonia Randhawa claimed the RM10,000 fine had been wrongly imposed on BFM radio as it was onerous to require broadcasters to submit all their content for pre-approval by the regulator.

“This is an infringement on the freedom of expression and damaging to media freedom, in particular,” she said in a statement issued together with CIJ co-director Jac SM Kee yesterday.

BFM’s interview with Islamic scholar Reza Aslan was aired on Oct 21 last year and the latter made comments disputing the Court of Appeal’s decision which barred Catholic newsletter Herald from using the word “Allah” to refer to God.

On Tuesday, the Malaysian Insider reported that MCMC had deemed it to be in breach of the conditions under their Individual Content Applications Service Provider (CASP-I) broadcast license, which required the regulator’s approval before any live or delayed telecast.

CIJ urged the MCMC to ensure that any such conditions imposed be subjected to the Federal Constitution, in particular Article 10, which guarantees freedom of expression.

Sonia said discussions on ethnicity or religion should not be curbed simply on the notion that the feelings of a particular religion’s adherents might be hurt, as it was harmful to a proper discourse.

She maintained that the government and the MCMC should have made their own arguments against them, rather than shut a down healthy debate.

She said MCMC should review the conditions imposed on broadcasters and remove any requirement for the pre-approval of all content.

MMA: ‘90-hour week impossible’

The Star
BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: It is not possible for house officers (HOs) to work 90 hours in a week with the current housemanship system, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said yesterday.

Its president, Dr H. Krishna Kumar, said they would usually work 60 to 70 hours per week and get a compulsory day off.

“However, it is known that some doctors do change their shifts to get a longer period off after working for prolonged periods of time.

“This practice is usually curtailed when the head of department or specialist in charge finds out,” he said.

Dr Krishna was responding to a letter published in The Star on Monday where the writer had urged the ministry to investigate cases of HOs being threatened and made to work up to 90 hours a week.

On a statement posted on his Facebook page yesterday, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a flexible working system implemented in 2011 required HOs to work an average 65-75 hours a week.

“Housemen are entitled to a day off per week but it is not necessary for it to fall on weekends,” he said .

Dr Krishna reminded HOs that a doctor’s life was not easy and there would be no shift duties when they became a medical officer or specialist.

Nevertheless, he said each complaint should be evaluated independently.

“If housemen have issues with work, they can always complain to the specialist in charge or department head or hospital director,” he said.

Moreover, most hospitals had HOs leaders to channel their complaints and they were also invited to the ministry to provide feedback, he said.

“Therefore, it is unfair to claim that there is no feedback or complaint mechanism,” he said.

Dr Krishna also said the intention of young people becoming doctors should also be scrutinised.

“If they are forced into it and they do not have interest in the profession, they will leave no matter what the reason is given,” he said.

List of price-controlled drugs may be introduced soon

The star
BY LOH FOON FONG

PUTRAJAYA: A list of price-controlled drugs may be introduced in view of the soaring medicine prices that have burdened many Malaysians.

The National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau is looking into the feasibility of such a list, especially since drugs are currently not controlled price items, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

“We are studying different models in different parts of the world and whether certain essential drugs can be subjected to the control, and the discussion is being done at the industry level,” he told reporters yesterday after launching the Malaysian International Healthcare Innovation Conference and Exhibition themedGlobal Healthcare Challenges.

Sunday Star carried a front page report that medicine prices had risen by up to 50% this year and were continuing to rise, leaving many in fear that the drugs they need might soon be out of their reach.

Dr Subramaniam said the bureau would have to study how prices could be enforced and what drugs should be listed.

Asked if high drug prices would hamper health tourism as Malaysia would need to compete with Thailand and Singapore, Dr Subramaniam said the cost of healthcare in Malaysia was lower (than in the two countries) but that was not the determining factor for foreigners as they look for overall improvement on healthcare delivery.

“We are trying to restructure the concept of health tourism to ensure that it is more sensitive to their needs,” he said.

On retirees and pensioners still struggling to pay for disposables and needles despite receiving highly subsidised medical treatment, he said the ministry would like to give everyone free treatment but that would have to depend on the ability to do so.

Dr Subramaniam said the public healthcare system in Malaysia was funded by only one source – the Federal Government.

This was unlike many other countries which received funding from several sources for their healthcare system, he added.

In his speech, Dr Subramaniam said that innovation was the way to making healthcare better, accessible and affordable.

Man with elephantiasis unable to undergo surgery because of his 241kg weight

The star

BY LOH FOON FONG

Massive problem: Sheikh Nafiq (second from left) discussing Ahmad Khalid’s condition with Dr Pok (right) at UMMC.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Ahmad Khalid Salleh, 39, could not seek treatment for elephantiasis on his right leg because he is unable to get his 241kg weight down to a safe level for surgery.

No doctor dares to carry out the conventional stomach bypass (Roux-En-Y gastric bypass) to enable him to reduce food intake and hence, weight loss, because it is deemed too risky for an obese person.

However, a relatively new method called single anastomosis gastric bypass or mini-gastric bypass, which has fewer complications than the conventional method, is available at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).

UMMC consultant surgeon Dr Pok Eng Hong said the mini-gastric bypass would address Ahmad Khalid’s weight problem and they could ultimately treat the parasitic infection that caused the extreme swelling (lymphatic filariasis).

“Ahmad Khalid needs to reduce more than 100kg before we can treat his leg,” he said yesterday, following Umno Youth community complaint bureau’s highlight of the case.

Ahmad Khalid, who quit working as a telecommunications salesman due to his condition, lost 23kg following a low-calorie diet at UMMC.

Dr Pok said a mini-gastric bypass would be carried out on Jan 9.

“We will create a small tube in the stomach to reduce food intake. The food will go straight into the small bowels,” said Dr Pok, who learned the technique from Taiwan.

UMMC, the pioneer of the method in this country, has carried out the procedure on seven severely obese patients this year.

Dr Pok said patients must follow a special diet and take multivitamins their entire life as their food intake and nutrition would be limited after the bypass.

If patients adhere to the diet and exercise programme, they could achieve almost all of the weight they need to lose within one-and-a-half years to be close to their ideal weight, he said.

Ahmad Khalid said he had difficulty walking because too much tissue would cover his foot.

He said it all began two months after a jungle trek in 2009. He had fever for a month and from then on, his leg began to swell and he was diagnosed withlymphatic filariasis.

Ahmad Khalid said he would need RM10,000 for the surgery despite having some welfare funds and aid from the Subang Jaya Zakat Centre.

Umno Youth community complaint bureau chairman Sheikh Nafiq Alfirdaous said they had been highlighting Ahmad Khalid’s problem but no hospital had taken up the case until UMMC came along.

‘Diabetics failing to control disease’

The star

BY LOH FOON FONG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_mSfBaKQog

National statistics reveal the youngest patient diagnosed with diabetes is as young as 4 years old.

PUTRAJAYA: A study has revealed that 76% of more seriously ill diabetics did not manage to get their diabetes under control and almost all did not comply with treatment advice.

As a result, almost half of the 1,668 patients with type 2 diabetes, seeking tertiary care from 19 public hospitals, suffered eye complications which could lead to blindness.

This was disclosed by Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia senior consultant endocrinologist Datuk Prof Dr Mafauzy Mohamed, who revealed the DiabCare Malaysia 2013 findings to mark World Diabetes Day yesterday.

Health awareness: Participants trying the Heart Attack Challenge at the ‘Beat Diabetes Before It Beats You’ programme at Sunway Pyramid. The event was organised by Sunway Medical Centre in conjunction with World Diabetes Day.

He said eye complications increased from 35% in 2008 to 49% last year, while kidney complications rose from 36% in 2008 to 42% last year.

“Over three-quarters of the patients failed to control their blood glucose level,” he said.

While there were less heart problems because their cholesterol levels were under control, 76% of them did not achieve optimal control compared with 72% in 2008, he said.

Dr Mafauzy said more than two-thirds also did not adhere to advice and led a sedentary lifestyle.

Universiti Kebangsaan Medical Centre diabetes and endocrine unit head Prof Dr Nor Azmi Kamaruddin said the DiabCare findings also revealed that 43% (320) of about 750 males with diabetes suffered from erectile dysfunction, another diabetic complication.

Star wins two awards for health journalism

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: The Star won a main prize and a consolation prize at the Health Media Awards 2014.

Its assistant features editor Tan Shiow Chin won the main prize for Best Health Journalism in the English Newspaper category for her article Living in the present.

She received RM3,500 from Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam during the Health Ministry’s 8th Health Media Awards 2014 on Tuesday night.

The Star assistant news editor Loh Foon Fong won a consolation prize of RM1,000 in the same category for her articles tied to the headline Dialysis patients in dire straits.

The other consolation prize winner for the category was Kasmiah Mustapha (New Straits Times) with her article The truth about breast cancer.

The other main prize winners for newspaper journalists were Rohana Man (Utusan Malaysia) and Jap Pei Ye of See Hua Daily News.

Abdul Hakim Ab Rahman and Khairunnisa Kasnoon of Astro Awani won RM5,000, the main prize for the television category, while Lek Kah Meng of Sin Chew Dailywon RM2,000 for the main prize in the Best Health Photo category.

Dr Subramaniam said the ministry required collaboration with the media because health was related to people’s attitude and lives.

Ministry steps up Ebola watch

BY LOH FOON FONG

Ebola - Malaysia’s preparedness video

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is stepping up efforts against the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, which is ravaging West Africa and has crossed continents to the United States and Spain.

Entry points, particularly international airports in Selangor, Penang, Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu, are being monitored for travellers who may be infected.

Body temperature scanners, installed at several airports to screen airline passengers for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003, will now help spot travellers having high fever – a symptom of Ebola.

Travellers coming in via the land borders of Thailand and Singapore in vehicles will be checked and additional monitoring systems are to be installed in Padang Besar, Perlis, and Rantau Panjang, Kelantan.

Public health personnel have conducted simulated exercises to better prepare themselves in the event that they encounter a confirmed Ebola case in the country, according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said there were nine Ebola false alarms in Malaysia as of Oct 15 but the ministry was not taking things lightly.

“The cases involved people from West Africa, mainly from Nigeria,” he said at a briefing for reporters on the ministry’s Ebola preparedness plan yesterday.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) official warned on Tuesday that new cases of Ebola could hit 10,000 per week by December, from the 1,000 a week now in West Africa.

Dr Subramaniam said travellers running a high fever would be stopped and asked if they had in the three weeks prior to arriving here been in any of the countries affected by Ebola.

“Immigration officers will also scrutinise passports to look for such travellers,” he said.

“If they have been to these countries, they will be quarantined at the airport.” Public health officers would then assess the situation and act accordingly.

Dr Subramaniam gave an assurance that that there were enough health officers trained to handle Ebola cases.

On Malaysians working or living in the countries affected by Ebola, he said they were required to inform Immigration if they returned here.

He could not provide the exact number of these Malaysians, but believed they could be in the hundreds.

WHO has not recommended any travel restrictions so far, except in cases where individuals were confirmed to be infected or had been in contact with an Ebola patient.

Health Ministry: All nine suspected Ebola patients tested negative

the star

BY LOH FOON FONG

PUTRAJAYA: All nine people suspected of being infected with Ebola have tested negative for the deadly disease, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said that diagnostic tests conducted on clinical samples of the nine patients had returned negative results.

The nine had arrived in Malaysia from West Africa with fevers.

“The Ministry personnel at all levels, including at international entry points, are continuously briefed on the guidelines for the management of cases suspected of being infected,” Subramaniam said at a press conference on the Health Ministry’s Ebola preparedness plan, Friday.

He said up to Oct 12, 8,973 Ebola cases and 4,484 deaths had been reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The figures include suspected, probable and confirmed cases.

The countries with Ebola outbreaks are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Countries with localised transmission, namely Nigeria, Senegal, the United States and Spain, have reported a total of 24 cases with nine deaths.

Ongoing active surveillance, being conducted in Nigeria and Senegal, have shown that all contacts had completed the 21 days of monitoring and no new cases had been reported, he said.

Until now, the WHO has not recommended any travel or trade restrictions except in cases where individuals had been confirmed or were suspected of being infected or had contact with Ebola cases.

However, Subramaniam advised Malaysians to avoid going to countries with the outbreak.

Disc implant that saved a knee

BY LOH FOON FONG

Extensive treatment: Dr Fazir (right), Dr Siti Hawa and HKL sports medicine specialist Dr Arshad Puji examining Kpl Adisura's knee after the surgery.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia achieved another notch in sports science when Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) successfully implanted a synthetic meniscus with the hope of repairing a man’s badly damaged knee, a feat the hospital said was second in Asia after Hong Kong.

Orthopaedic specialist Dr Siti Hawa Tahir said the synthetic meniscus served as a temporary scaffold to stimulate the knee to grow a new meniscus, while the implant itself would disintegrate after four years.

The meniscus is a rubbery disc that cushions the knee as it moves under load, such as when lifting heavy objects or running, making meniscus tear a common knee injury.

Doctors say most types of tears are not repairable since only the peripheral third of the meniscus receives blood supply, which is essential for tissue repair.

According to HKL Orthopaedic and Traumatology department head Datuk Dr Fazir Mohamad, when it comes to severe meniscus tear, the damaged part is usually removed, but this leads to early osteoarthritis in young people.

The new approach could offer a better option to those who suffered a severe tear, he said.

The man on the receiving end of this new way of repairing meniscus is an officer with the Federal Reserve Unit, Kpl Adisura Syafriee Abdullah, 36.

Kpl Adisura fell on his left knee during a football game in 2010 but continued with playing and running. Last year, he heard a popping sound from his knee before it started to swell.

Dr Siti Hawa said Kpl Adisura’s treatment was extensive because his injury had been left untreated for far too long and his left knee looked like it belonged to a 60-year-old man.

A team of four specialists and eight other medical personnel took six hours on Sept 26 to complete the alignment procedure, implant the synthetic meniscus, as well as to reconstruct the damaged cartilage and ligament on Kpl Adisura.

Dr Siti Hawa said the next stage for him now was to undergo proper rehabilitation.

Kpl Adisura should be able to walk six weeks after the surgery and run in four to six months, as well as engage in all forms of sports a year later.

“As the country moves towards a developed nation status and has athletes competing at the highest levels, knee injuries tend to be more complex and require highly skilled treatment,” Dr Fazir said.

“We will continue to lead in this area and provide training for those who want to specialise in this area,” he said.

‘Include electricity under GST-free list’

BY RAHIMY RAHIM, PRIYA KULASAGARAN, AND LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: If consumers are wondering how much of electricity they use before they are imposed with the Goods and Services Tax (GST), it is RM77, which translates to 300 units of consumption.

However, this amount would only be for the average use of basic electrical appliances such as television, fan, light, refrigerator and other household items, said Association of Water and Energy Research president S. Piarapakaran.

“If they use an air-conditioner or shower with a water heater, the amount of electricity consumed will come to more than 300 units for a family of four or more,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Under Budget 2015 announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last Friday, electricity consumption of up to 300 units will be GST-free, a move expected to benefit 70% of Malaysian households.

The association has urged the Government to reconsider the imposition of GST on electricity, and include it under the zero-rated list.

Piarapakaran said they were concerned that the GST on electricity for commercial and industrial use would cause the prices of goods and services to go up, with the cost being passed on to consumers.

“Our electricity tariff is already punitive, which means the more you use, the more you pay.

“It will be unfair to include additional charges via GST to consumers’ bills,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia called on the Government to include all drugs and medicines as zero-rated under the GST list.

Its president Ewe Kheng Huat said more drugs outside of the National Essential Medicine List and those sold over the counter should also be categorised as zero-rated.

“We are asking for all medicines and drugs to be zero-rated as there is a huge range of dosages just within one type of medicine,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Ewe cited an example where a simple drug such as paracetamol had different dosages to suit the age groups.

Budget 2015 also noted that GST would not be imposed on dental, nursing, midwifery, allied health, pharmacy and ambulance services provided by healthcare professionals, hospitalisation, screening, diagnoses, treatment to those suffering from any disease, injury or disability of mind or body.

2,900 medicines categorised zero-rated GST

the star
BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has clarified that the 2,900 brands of essential medicine that will be exempted from the Goods and Services Tax are categorised as zero-rated GST.

These supplies comprised 320 chemical compounds that are subject to a zero rate.

“Health services per se are ‘GST exempt’ and the chemical compounds are zero-rated.

“Retailers or hospitals are eligible to claim back the GST (as output tax) but will not charge it to the consumer,” Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam told a press conference after launching the organ donation street campaign, “One Pledge with A Million Hopes” here yesterday.

On the other hand, he added, another category of “GST exempted” products is where consumers are exempted but not the retailers or hospitals.

He added that this could lead to an increase in overall price to cover the GST paid, clarifying the announcement made by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when he presented Budget 2015 on Friday.

The Prime Minister stated 2,900 essential medicines would be exempted from the GST but did not specify the category.

Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia president Datuk Dr Jacob Thomas had also said the APHM wanted to know if the 2,900 brands of drugs would be zero-rated GST.

Dr Subramaniam said herbs were not in the essential zero-rated GST drug list and discussions were still being held with the Finance Ministry on whether medical devices would also be zero-rated.

“We are asking for most of them to be zero-rated. They are studying it and, in the near future, would decide which would be zero-rated,” said Dr Subramaniam, commenting on an appeal by Association of Malaysian Medical Industries chairman Hitendra Joshi on Thursday for medical devices to be put in the same GST zero-rated category as pharmaceutical drugs because they save, improve and prolong lives.

Asked if he was satisfied with the health allocation, Dr Subramaniam said it would enable the ministry to operate “the normal things”.

He said emphasis had been given to cancer treatment and haemodialysis, adding that his ministry hoped for a transformation in the health services under the 11th Malaysia Plan.

He said about half of the ministry’s budget would go to paying the salaries of 260,000 employees.

On the organ donation campaign, Dr Subramaniam said 500 volunteers were involved in getting people to sign up as donors nationwide.

MCA wants leaders’ memorial

BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: MCA has proposed that the Government set up a Tun Tan Cheng Lock memorial centre as testament to the multiracial efforts that brought about the country’s independence.

Party president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday the centre would not just be about Tan, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun V. T. Sambathan, but also a “witness” of the country’s moderation and inclusiveness in a multiracial society.

“MCA feels that this is necessary and must be recorded and appreciated and shared with the younger generation,” he told a press conference after the soft launch of MCA’s Corridor of History gallery at the MCA headquarters.

Liow also said MCA’s history was of great importance to the younger generation.

“After independence, we worked together to form a multiracial government and this government promoted multiracialism and protected multiracial rights to ensure peace, harmony and prosperity. We achieved this in the last 57 years of independence,” he said.

Asked to comment on the police decision not to investigate Petaling Jaya Utara Umno deputy Youth chief Mohamad Azli Mohamed Saad’s call for the abolition of vernacular schools as a sedition case and deeming it a civil case instead, Liow said MCA viewed Mohamad Azli’s comment as seditious.

“If there is intention of a seditious act, then police should investigate from the sedition point of view. We want to reiterate that Chinese education is part of the national education system and there should not be voices asking to pull down Chinese schools,” he said.

He said police should investigate all angles, especially the motive of the person.

Mohamad Azli had recently suggested that Umno’s upcoming general assembly discuss the abolition of vernacular schools.

Liow said MCA had pushed for multi-stream education during independence and the country’s leaders then had agreed to the system.

Liow said the country had a good education system that was inclusive where Chinese, Tamil and Malay education was provided for under Article 152 of the Federal Constitution.

“If anyone in this country has extreme views and proposes to eradicate vernacular schools, it is wrong. MCA not only condemns this move but also feels that the Government should take action against those who are creating disharmony,” he said.

On Budget 2015, Liow said MCA hoped the economy would be beefed up and the cost of living reduced. The Chinese community also hoped that allocation for Chinese schools would be increased, he said.

Budget 2015: MMA wants GST removal on medical indemnity insurance

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has expressed concern that doctors may have to pay more in premiums for their medical indemnity insurance once the Goods and Services Tax (GST) comes into effect.

Its president Dr H Krishna Kumar said the association called on the Government to remove the GST imposed on medical indemnity insurance, both in premiums and payouts.

“Doctors will be burdened by the increased cost of medical indemnity insurance as a result of it being subjected to GST,” he said.

Dr Krishna said while insurance would be subjected to GST, doctors could not pass it down to patients as healthcare had been exempted from it.

Doctors, he said, would have to bear the burden as doctors’ fees were fixed and governed by the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998.

Citing an example, he said, the premium cost for obstetrics and gynaecology could be as high as RM80,000 per annum and the additional RM4,800 for GST would increase the cost of healthcare.

“Doctors will then start charging for other services that are currently not charged and, eventually, patients will end up paying for it, increasing the cost of healthcare,” he said.

Meanwhile, Association of Malaysian Medical Industries chairman Hitendra Joshi urged the Government to put medical devices in the same GST zero-rated category as pharmaceutical drugs.

He said medical devices should be categorised “zero-rated” on the GST because they save, improve and prolong lives.

“If a medical device is zero-rated, retailer or hospital will claim back GST (as output tax) and will not charge it to the consumer,” he said.

On the other hand, “GST exempted” would mean retailer or hospital would have to “absorb” the GST and while there was no GST in the final bill to consumer, there could be a possibility that businesses might increase the price to cover the GST they paid, he said.