Optical industry has been in our country for many decades, but it has been populated mostly by dispensing opticians and unqualified practitioners.
In 1991, to safe guard the interest of the public, the government implemented the optical Act. Through this act a new born profession has been categorized and that is the optometrist. They are not only trained merely on dispensing spectacles but are university trained in eye examination. They are taught about the eye structure, its biochemistry, its optics, its pharmacology and etc. So this is the properly trained professional forming the new generation of practices.
Our association was form in February 1984 consisting of 200 odd members throughout Malaysia and overseas. In Malaysia we are the only body that represents the optometrist profession. All of our members are either graduated overseas or locally. We are the primary eye care professional who can recognize eye problems and plan a proper course of therapy related to the eye or carry out the appropriate referrals .Through this association, we hope to unite all the optometrists throughout the country and together we will promote by all reasonable means , the encouragement and advancement of the science of optics in its application to the preservation of sight.