PN’s Dr Afif calls for transparency, engagement on GEG with retailers

A representative of the Selangor chapter of the Coffee Shops and Restaurants Association, Norhazi Ismail (right), submitting a memorandum to Dr Afif Bahardin at Tingkap Cafe, Petaling Jaya, today.

PETALING JAYA: Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Taman Medan candidate Dr Afif Bahardin has called for more engagement between Putrajaya and stakeholders over the introduction of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023, also known as the Generational Endgame (GEG) Bill.

Afif said such engagement was vital for the successful implementation of the law, without which it “would just remain as law on paper” sans support and voluntary implementation by the community.

“This is where the approach should be different from the way the health ministry is going about it at the moment. It’s just not enough, more (engagement) needs to be done before such policies are introduced,” he told reporters at Tingkap Cafe here.

The Selangor chapter of the Coffee Shops and Restaurants Association today submitted a memorandum to Afif, demanding that the government hold open dialogues with retailers to better understand the nuanced impact of its policies, including on the GEG Bill.

Afif drew on his experience as Penang’s executive councillor for healthcare, agriculture and rural development in the introduction of the state’s smoke-free zone initiative.

“We had a lot of engagements at that time with business owners on how we were going to achieve and implement the initiative,” he said, adding that it is “all about empowering the community” when getting their buy-in.

“To get to that level, a lot of engagements needed to be done. So, the health ministry needs to play a bigger role in educating the public, community and business owners on why it is important to implement such policies,” he added.

Afif previously served as the Seberang Jaya assemblyman under PKR for two terms from May 2013.

On June 12, health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa told the Dewan Rakyat that the draft GEG Bill, which seeks to ban the use, purchase and sale of cigarettes and vape products to those born after 2007, had been referred to the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on health yet again.

She said PSC members, MPs, professional bodies and NGOs had demanded that some matters under the bill be further reviewed during an engagement session a week earlier.

The health minister’s special adviser, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, said no timeline had been set for the GEG Bill’s tabling for a second reading in Parliament.

Afif stressed the need for transparency, including on the timelines involved for the implementation of the new law.

“If you can’t be transparent about it, then you won’t be able to give a clear time frame on when it’s going to (be implemented), and what is the next step and what is the process. That’s where you (will) fail to get the buy-in from the public,” he said. - FMT