PKR MP rips into govt over dropping of GEG

 

Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim said if Putrajaya were to enact laws that contradict the Federal Constitution, other parties could bring the matter to court.

KUALA LUMPUR: A backbencher has rebuked the government for retracting the generational endgame (GEG) component from the revised version of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill.

Hassan Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) dismissed Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh’s stand that the GEG was unconstitutional, arguing that this should be determined by the courts, rather than MPs or the AG.

Hassan, who is a lawyer, said if Putrajaya were to enact laws that contradict the Federal Constitution, other parties could bring the matter to court.

“The courts decide (on whether a law is constitutional or not). The AG should not be acting like a gatekeeper.

“If that’s the case, there is no need for a Parliament. Let the Cabinet and AG alone formulate laws on their own,” he said while debating the bill in the Dewan Rakyat.

The PKR MP also accused the government of conceding to lobbyists from the tobacco industry, saying he was saddened by this.

Hassan said all 222 MPs should have been allowed to debate the tobacco bill with the GEG component.

While acknowledging that not all MPs would back the GEG provision, he said at least the matter would have been discussed by the Dewan Rakyat.

He added that it would be fine if the bill failed to be passed in the lower house as that was part of the democratic process.

“Instead, we have yet to discuss (the bill) but (the GEG component) has already been retracted,” Hassan said, adding that MPs have the responsibility of protecting the future generations of Malaysia.

“Many out there are hoping that (those born) after 2007 would not be allowed to smoke so that they can take care of their health.”

Yesterday, health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa tabled a revised version of the bill for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat. She said the government had to remove the GEG provisions from the amended version as they were unconstitutional.

However, Zaliha insisted that the ministry has not scrapped the provisions which sought to ban smoking and vaping among those born after 2007, but was simply “putting it aside for now”.

The minister said the government might revive tabling the law “if there is a need for the GEG in the future”. - FMT