KUALA TERENGGANU, 17 September 2026 – From a single community pharmacy to a network of 51 outlets, Farmasi Lautan has marked 41 years of pharmacist-led healthcare with an Asia Record recognition for:
“Longest Operating Pharmacist Owned Retail Pharmacy in 2025”
The Asia Record recognition was officially presented to Farmasi Lautan on 17 September 2026, celebrating a journey that began in 1985 with a vision to provide professional pharmacy care while making effective healthcare more accessible and affordable to the communities it serves.
Founded by pharmacist Dato’ Lau Tiam Kwee, Farmasi Lautan began as a community pharmacy in Kuala Terengganu. From the beginning, his purpose was clear: to help families access effective pharmaceutical care, affordable healthcare products and trusted professional advice within their communities.
According to Farmasi Lautan’s corporate history, Dato’ Lau established the pharmacy after completing his mandatory pre-registration practice at a local hospital in Kuala Terengganu. At the time, professional community pharmacy services in his hometown were relatively limited, inspiring him to establish a pharmacy owned and operated by a fully registered pharmacist.
As of 2026, Farmasi Lautan has been serving communities for 41 years and has expanded to 51 outlets, reflecting a journey built on professional commitment, community presence and customer trust.
For Dato’ Lau, however, the significance of the Asia Record recognition goes far beyond the number of years Farmasi Lautan has been operating.
“When I started Farmasi Lautan in 1985, my intention was never simply to build a large business. I wanted to establish a pharmacy that people could trust, where families could find the healthcare products they needed and receive professional guidance from people who understood their needs. Forty-one years later, that purpose remains at the heart of what we do,” said Dato’ Lau Tiam Kwee, Founder of Farmasi Lautan.
41 Years of Serving Community Healthcare Needs
Over four decades, the role of community pharmacies has evolved significantly.
Consumers today look to their local pharmacies not only for medicines, but also for health products, professional guidance, medical equipment and convenient support for their everyday healthcare needs.
Farmasi Lautan has evolved alongside these changing expectations, continuously broadening its products and services while keeping professional pharmacy care at the centre of its operations.
Today, the company provides medicines, health and nutritional supplements, medical devices and rehabilitation equipment, personal care products, baby and children’s products and other healthcare essentials.
A key part of Farmasi Lautan’s approach has been ensuring that its products remain reasonably priced while expanding its physical presence so that customers can obtain what they need closer to home.
For Dato’ Lau, this balance between value, convenience and professional standards has remained important since the company’s earliest days.
“Pharmacy is ultimately a profession built on responsibility. When customers come to us for their health, they are placing their trust in us. We have to understand what they need, provide products that can genuinely support them and make sure good healthcare does not become unnecessarily difficult for families to obtain.”
From One Community Pharmacy to 51 Outlets
From its beginnings in Kuala Terengganu in 1985, Farmasi Lautan has steadily expanded its presence.
As of 2026, the company operates 51 outlets, bringing its pharmacy services and healthcare products closer to a growing number of communities.
While the number of outlets reflects Farmasi Lautan’s growth as a business, Dato’ Lau sees expansion as serving a larger purpose.
“Having more outlets is meaningful only when those outlets allow us to serve more people. When customers can find the products and professional advice they need closer to where they live, that is where expansion becomes meaningful.”
This community-focused approach has allowed Farmasi Lautan to evolve from a traditional retail pharmacy into a broader healthcare provider while maintaining the pharmacist-led foundation upon which the company was built.
Over 41 years, consumer behaviour, technology, healthcare needs and the retail environment have changed considerably. Yet Farmasi Lautan has continued to place community pharmacy services at the centre of its development.
Extending Care into Rehabilitation Equipment and Support
As the healthcare needs of its customers have evolved, Farmasi Lautan has also extended its services beyond conventional pharmacy products by providing rehabilitation equipment for sale and rental.
This reflects an understanding that healthcare does not necessarily end when a patient leaves a clinic or hospital. Individuals recovering from illness, undergoing rehabilitation or managing longer-term health needs may require continued support at home.
Farmasi Lautan provides rehabilitation equipment for sale and rental, including hospital beds, wheelchairs and oxygen concentrators, giving customers and their families another convenient point of access to equipment that supports recovery, rehabilitation and longer-term care.
By expanding its rehabilitation equipment offerings, Farmasi Lautan is gradually extending its role beyond that of a conventional retail pharmacy.
The development complements its wider pharmacy network by allowing customers to access medicines, health products, professional advice and selected rehabilitation equipment for sale or rental through a familiar healthcare provider.
A 41-Year Legacy Built on Trust
Operating for more than four decades represents a significant milestone for any organisation.
For Farmasi Lautan, its Asia Record recognition carries additional meaning because the company has maintained its pharmacist-owned identity and professional pharmacy foundation throughout its journey.
The recognition, “Longest Operating Pharmacist Owned Retail Pharmacy in 2025,” celebrates not simply the age of the business, but the continuity of a pharmacy established by a professional pharmacist and sustained through decades of service to the community.
For Dato’ Lau, longevity is not simply about remaining in business. It is about earning the confidence of customers from one generation to the next.
“Forty-one years cannot be built by one person alone. Farmasi Lautan is here today because of the customers, pharmacists, employees and business partners who have supported us throughout the journey. Every generation has different expectations, so we must continue to improve. But professionalism, integrity and responsibility towards our customers must never change.”
That trust has allowed Farmasi Lautan to grow from a single community pharmacy into a network of 51 outlets.
Passing the Legacy to the Next Generation
The Farmasi Lautan story is also entering another important chapter: generational continuity.
Today, Lau Jia Liang serves as Chief Executive Officer of Farmasi Lautan, taking the organisation into its next phase while carrying forward the foundation established by Dato’ Lau.
For a family-founded company with more than four decades of history, passing leadership to the next generation is about much more than preserving what has already been built.
The challenge is to respond to changing consumer expectations, technology and healthcare needs while protecting the principles that earned the company the trust of its communities in the first place.
For Dato’ Lau, seeing the next generation continue the journey gives the Asia Record recognition additional meaning.
“My hope for the next generation is not simply that Farmasi Lautan will have more outlets. I hope they will continue to understand what our customers need, keep our products within reach of ordinary families and maintain the professional standards that have brought us this far.”
“Growth is important, but we must never forget why customers choose to trust Farmasi Lautan.”
Under the next generation of leadership, Farmasi Lautan continues to combine its decades of community pharmacy experience with the changing healthcare needs of modern consumers.
An Achievement 41 Years in the Making
Some records can be achieved in a single day. A record built on longevity can only be accumulated over time.
For Farmasi Lautan, its Asia Record achievement represents 41 years of opening its doors, serving customers, maintaining professional pharmacy standards, developing pharmacists and employees, and responding to changes in healthcare and retail.
More importantly, it represents generations of customers who have placed their confidence in the pharmacy.
“This recognition belongs to everyone who has been part of Farmasi Lautan’s journey. Our pharmacists, employees, business partners and especially our customers have supported us through different stages of our growth. Without their confidence and loyalty, there would be no Farmasi Lautan story to celebrate today,” said Dato’ Lau.
The milestone therefore celebrates not only the founder behind Farmasi Lautan, but also the people who have contributed to sustaining and developing the organisation over more than four decades.
From a single pharmacist-owned community pharmacy established in Kuala Terengganu in 1985 to 51 outlets as of 2026, Farmasi Lautan’s journey demonstrates how professional commitment, continuity and community trust can build an enduring healthcare business.
Looking Beyond 41 Years
For Farmasi Lautan, 41 years is not the end of the journey.
Through its growing pharmacy network, healthcare products, professional pharmaceutical services and rehabilitation support, the company continues to focus on making effective healthcare more accessible and affordable for families, without losing sight of quality and professional care.
The Asia Record recognition provides an opportunity to look back at how far the company has travelled, but Dato’ Lau believes the greater responsibility lies in what comes next.
“Records are meaningful because they allow us to look back and appreciate how far we have come. But tomorrow, we still have to open our doors and serve our customers well. That responsibility has never changed since the first day Farmasi Lautan began.”
Forty-one years after its founding, Farmasi Lautan continues the journey that began with one pharmacist’s vision in Kuala Terengganu.
From Dato’ Lau Tiam Kwee establishing the first Farmasi Lautan pharmacy in 1985 to a new generation of leadership that includes Chief Executive Officer Lau Jia Liang, the Farmasi Lautan story has evolved into one of professional commitment, community service and generational continuity.
Farmasi Lautan’s Asia Record recognition as the “Longest Operating Pharmacist Owned Retail Pharmacy in 2025,” officially presented on 17 September 2026, marks an important chapter in this 41-year journey.
From one community pharmacy to 51 outlets, and from traditional pharmaceutical services to broader healthcare and rehabilitation support, Farmasi Lautan continues to build on the purpose that shaped its beginnings: making effective healthcare more accessible and affordable for families through dependable healthcare products, professional pharmacy services and support for their changing healthcare needs.
To learn more about Farmasi Lautan, its healthcare products, pharmacy services, rehabilitation equipment and outlets, visit the official Farmasi Lautan website: www.farmasilautan.com
For further information about Asia Record, its record recognitions and record holders, visit the official Asia Record website: www.asiarecord.com