Zaliha quotes Hadith after rebuke by MPs in Parliament

 

PARLIAMENT | Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa quoted the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad after she was rebuked by several MPs during the winding up of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill today.

Zaliha (Pakatan Harapan-Sekijang) said this in regard to criticisms regarding the dropping of the tobacco and vape generational end game (GEG) provisions.

“The temperature of debate has gone up, with certain quarters provoking and rebuking me over the matter.

“But I’m fine with that. I’m a person who can receive feedback and agree to disagree as long as the other party does not resort to rude remarks.

“I just want to remind you of Prophet Muhammad’s hadith, which urges his followers to behave kindly towards women. The sentence is repeated three times in his farewell sermon,” Zaliha said during her winding-up speech in Dewan Rakyat, today.

A total of 27 MPs from both sides of the political divide took part in the debate session.

Yesterday, several lawmakers trained their guns on Zaliha after the Health Ministry dropped the GEG clause from the revised Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill.

They alleged that Zaliha and her ministry kowtowed to tobacco lobbyists and industry players to snuff out the GEG provisions from the bill.

This is despite Zaliha asserting yesterday that the only reason why the provision was dropped from the revised bill is that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) views the GEG clause as “unconstitutional”.

Hassan Abdul Karim (Harapan–Pasir Gudang), when debating the bill in the August House, reminded Zaliha that MPs are the lawmakers, not the attorney-general (AG).

Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah (Perikatan Nasional-Langkawi) also echoed Hassan’s sentiments.

Meanwhile, Zaliha concluded that the reaction by the lawmakers showed that they cared about and loved the country’s young generation.

“Many were disappointed and angry by the GEG being dropped from this stand-alone bill.

“But my dear YBs (Yang Berhormat), we must remember that we not only want to create a young generation that does not smoke, but also one that does not take bribes, steal people’s money, defame others, and are blindly loyal to leadership.” - Mkini