A parliamentary oversight body has expressed “reservations” about controversial proposed amendments to Act 342 that suggested raising the maximum fine amount to RM2 million.
Act 342 refers to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988.
On Dec 20 last year, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin postponed the second and third reading of the amendment bill to allow for more consultation.
Yesterday, the bipartisan Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Health, Science and Innovation held further discussions on the matter with Khairy and his ministry.
According to committee chairperson Dr Kelvin Yii (above), key concerns included the high fines proposed plus risks that the Act could be selectively enforced against the most vulnerable communities.
“The committee expressed reservations on high fines set by the government.
“(It also) discussed and explored other options to be considered to better ensure compliance while balancing the risk of it being abused.
“Issues of selective, unregulated enforcement which may lead to the risk of corruption were also brought up, and ways to safeguard the public against that were discussed,” the Bandar Kuching MP said in a statement today.
The PSC stressed the need to benchmark the fine quantum against “best practices all around the world”.
Yii said they also wanted decisions to be made based on data on whether higher fines indeed encouraged the public to adhere to the law.
“We managed to achieve some consensus and find some middle ground on certain provisions of the Act itself, which includes adding necessary indemnity to doctors and general practitioners who report suspected cases of infectious disease to make sure they are better protected,” the DAP lawmaker added.
Proposed amendments
In December last year, the government proposed to amend Act 342 to help it address the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
After the opposition protested against the high fines proposed and risks of selective enforcement, the Act was further amended several times.
The latest proposed maximum fine amount is now RM2,000 for an individual and/or a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. The proposed maximum fine for a corporation is RM2 million.
The proposed maximum compound amount is RM1,000 for an individual and RM500,000 for a corporation.
PSCs should scrutinise all bills
Yii opined that bills ought to be scrutinised by PSCs before they are tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.
“Such practices to review government bills by a bipartisan select committee before tabling in Parliament is the way forward, especially if we want to build a strong and mature democracy,” he said.
Aside from the usual PSC members, five experts also participated in yesterday’s discussion - World Health Organization Science Council member Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Koh Kar Chai, MMA secretary-general Dr R Thirunavukarasu, Federation of Private Medical Practitioners’ Association president Dr Steven Chow and former Hospital Kuala Lumpur director Dr Lim Kuan Joo.
Lim was involved in drafting the existing Act 342. - Mkini
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