KUALA LUMPUR – The Health Ministry’s Generational Endgame (GEG) bill to ban smoking for those born in 2007 and onwards is overly punitive, a Sarawak lawmaker said.
Debating the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (Bintulu-GPS) said he “outright rejects” the bill as the fine, already reduced to RM500 from RM5,000, is too steep for those in the lower-income group.
“Some rural folks asked me, if their children are caught smoking, who’s going to pay for it? Why isn’t the Health Ministry looking at this issue?
“Don’t be a hero! No country in the world is able to do it (ban smoking for future generations), but we are trying to show that Malaysia can.
“Think of the rural folks. People say that for those without identification cards, ‘hidup susah, mati pun susah’ (life is hard, death is no better). Now, smoking is also hard. Does the health minister (Khairy Jamaluddin) know this?” Tiong said.
He also questioned Khairy’s previous explanation that the government will save up to RM8 billion a year from not having to treat diseases linked to smoking if the GEG bill is passed, as opposed to the approximately RM2.8 billion in expected excise duty loss.
Tiong argued that there has been no data to prove Khairy’s claim that all the diseases mentioned were due to the consumption of tobacco and related products.
“I have a friend, whose whole family doesn’t smoke. But one of them died of breast cancer and another of colon cancer. Nothing to do with cigarettes. How can this happen?”
Separately, Tiong demanded that Khairy respond to allegations on social media about the ministry possibly requiring the development of another mobile app, similar to MySejahtera, for the purpose of monitoring the GEG implementation.
“If true, how much more public funds will be used? Why are we bulldozing the bill? We can’t just act like this. Don’t be kong ‘kali kong’ (dishonest).
“The minister cannot ‘syiok sendiri’ (be self-indulgent). We (MPs) in the rural areas are the ones who are half dead responding to their questions. I outright reject this bill. I oppose!” he said in concluding his debate. – The Vibes, August 2, 2022
