Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni revealed that lobbying by tobacco and vape industry representatives heavily influenced the removal of the generational endgame provision (GEG) from a law to control smoking.
According to Lukanisman (above), lobbyists met directly with MPs ahead of the bill's debates, swaying their views against the endgame measure aimed at creating a smoke-free future generation.
"On pressure from the industry - we need support from all quarters.
“If we look at our experience when we tabled the GEG, a conflict of views arose due to industry pressure – the industry (members) entered Parliament and they met MPs which influenced the decision," he said.
Lukanisman said this in response to Kapar MP Dr Halimah Ali's supplementary question during the ministers' question time (MQT) in the Dewan Rakyat today.
The government's original proposal to prohibit those born after 2007 from ever purchasing smoking products was scrapped from the recently passed Control of Smoking Products for Public Health 2023 Bill.
The endgame ban was a core part of the proposed legislation before being dropped in November prior to the Bill's first reading.
Irate over the decision, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin had accused two cabinet ministers and "the gaffer" of what had transpired. The former Rembau MP was the architect of the original bill.
The two ministers she targeted were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing.
As for "the gaffer", it was likely in reference to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as the term is a British slang for "the boss".
According to reports by CodeBlue, Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh was of the opinion that the GEG provisions were "unconstitutional" because they violated Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which guaranteed equality before the law.
"To (the Attorney-General's Chambers), there will be two sets of laws for two different groups of citizens based on age," a source told CodeBlue.
After two days of debate, the revised bill was passed on Nov 30 and the Dewan Negara on Dec 14.
‘Don’t be influenced’
On that note, Lukanisman cautioned lawmakers against being unduly influenced by vape advertising, noting the products' ability to attract youth.
“We should not be easily influenced by vape advertisements as they are items that can easily attract the attention of children,” he said.
Health advocates had championed the endgame policy as a vital step towards reducing smoking's tremendous public health toll.
In December last year, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad offered "a million apologies" in the Dewan Negara over the scrapping of GEG provisions.
Dzulkefly acknowledged public concerns following the decision, but requested that all parties understand and support the measures taken by the government for now. - Mkini
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