HEALTH Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has caved in to widespread criticism over his ministry’s tobacco Generational End Game (GEG), agreeing to make drastic changes to the policy.
The changes include reducing standard fines, providing community service as an alternative sentence and disallowing instances of juvenile body searches.
However, he made no mention of enforcement agents being allowed to raid homes without a warrant and check electronic devices, implying that these are still allowed for in the Control of Tobacco Products and Smoking Bill 2022.
In a tweet yesterday (Aug 1), Khairy said he had “productive meetings” with the Parliamentary Special Select Committees (PSSC) on Women, Children and Social Development, and Health, Science and Innovation.
In the “spirit of bipartisanship”, he said he agreed to reduce the standard fines in the Bill from the maximum RM5,000 penalty to RM500.
Community service will be included as an option in lieu of a fine (to be mandated by a judge), while no body searches will take place for anyone under the age of 18.
Besides that, there will be no punishments for possession offences provided for in the GEG, which covers tobacco products like cigarettes and vape mods.
“With these concessions, the majority of recommendations by both PSCs has been incorporated as amendments into the Bill,” he said.
What the Bill covers
In an effort to outlaw smoking for future generations and reduce treatment costs for the Government, the Health Ministry proposed penalising the sale of cigarettes, tobacco and vape to anyone born after 2007 with a maximum RM20,000 fine to sellers.
The GEG, in the form of the Bill, also provides a maximum RM5,000 fine to those possessing, buying or smoking cigarettes or e-cigarette products – i.e., teenagers and children currently aged 15 years and younger.
Rather controversially, the Bill provides enforcement agents the power to access personal data (requiring users to give up the password on their devices), open a person’s bag and stop and search a vehicle.
Besides that, the Bill allows these agents to forcibly enter a person’s home for search and seizure, with or without a warrant, and conduct body searches.
Concerns have been raised by medical groups and politicians over potential abuse of power and disproportionate punishments on juveniles, with most urging for the Bill to be postponed until amendments are made.
The Bill was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat last week. It was tabled for second reading and debate yesterday, with debates continuing today.
It remains to be seen if the new changes to the Bill will be ready in time and if it can be passed during the current sitting, which ends in two days. – Aug 2, 2022
