YOURSAY | Tiong and govt should take responsibility for GEG bill

YOURSAY | ‘There was plenty of time to review the bill instead of blaming the past minister.’

KJ should blame himself over GEG - Tiong

IndigoTrout2522: Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing and his government should take responsibility for having the generational endgame (GEG) bill passed as they are now almost a year old.

There was plenty of time for them to review the bill and present it to Parliament. Why is Tiong blaming the past minister? Smoking and second-hand smoke kills a lot of people.

Smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer. And, apparently, as in every part of the world, the cigarette industry, with its deep pockets, will try to defeat any laws against smoking.

So what have you done this past year? Why are you against this bill? If there are legal wordings that need to be clear or clarified, fix them. Just an opinion.

Determined Sarawakian: I haven’t seen the bill yet, therefore, I won’t comment on it. However, Tiong commented: “The truth is, many cancer patients do not smoke or are affected by second-hand smoke.”

And then he queried, “How will their experience with cancer be explained?”

Firstly, did former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin supply the Health Ministry with data on the number of cancer cases related to smoking, vaping, or inhaling second-hand smoke?

This is very important in order to have pre-emptive prevention and deterrence. Otherwise, draconian legislation has implications.

According to Gleneagles Hospitals Malaysia, the top five cancers are: breast, colorectal (colon), lung, nasopharyngeal (head and neck), and liver cancer.

That said, if you speak with health professionals, their advice is education, awareness, as well as constant surveillance and monitoring via health checkups.

The US has low incidences of lung and nasopharyngeal cancers. The once-popular Marlboro cowboy advertisements were deemed disgusting and ceased to be broadcast.

That said, what the government can do is keep the lid on by having to raise the age of smoking and vaping. Increase taxes on vaping and smoking.

Heinous fines for both locals and foreigners who light up at places where smoking and vaping are disallowed. Restrict the number of areas to smoke, especially public areas.

Causes of lung cancer arise from deliberate nicotine smoking and vaping. These patients will have to bear costly healthcare.

And finally, restrict the sale of cigarettes and vape to the evenings only. With these gradual policies, people will generally refrain automatically from cigarette and vape smoking.

Kajang Ada Aircon dan Starbucks: Equality before the law? Tell that to the citizens of this country whose rights get trampled on, who get treated like second-class citizens despite toiling the land for generations.

This is not about Khairy. It is a bill with good intentions that should be passed with amendments. It is the job of MPs and the Law Minister to suggest the necessary amendments.

The sale of vaping products was banned in Johor as far back as 2016. I hope the incoming Agong encourages the government to relook this bill.

Grizzled Warrior: I am a non-smoker here. There is an urgent need to regulate vaping and the sale of liquid nicotine to minors.

This is something which has been left unregulated when the current health minister removed liquid nicotine from the controlled substances list in the Poisons Act, thereby paving the way for the indiscriminate sale of liquid nicotine vape products to minors.

If the GEG provisions in the Tobacco Control Bill (call it whatever you want) are the stumbling block that is holding up the passage of the bill, remove them.

Get the bill out fast and start enforcing it effectively. Malaysia has a poor record when it comes to enforcement.

Live to fight another day. The GEG provisions, once properly formulated so as not to be unconstitutional, can always be introduced later by way of an amendment to the Tobacco Control Act.

KJ, in wanting his minute of fame as the then health minister, has overreached and was overly ambitious in wanting to introduce the GEG provisions quickly, without consulting all stakeholders.

Go for the low-hanging fruits first, bro!

Man on the Street: Although I am all for stopping people from smoking, I am in complete agreement with the attorney-general.

The intention is right but the implementation is completely against the laws of natural justice.

KJ shouldn’t have gone around shooting his mouth and blaming others instead of himself for drafting a poorly formulated law.

They should have looked at the best way, rather than thinking that only their approach was the right way.

If you want to ban smoking, just ban it for everyone. But I guess the political elite still want their votes. So they choose a law that will only be enforced on those who cannot vote yet!

Fed Up Bodoh Sombong: Since being sacked, KJ has been trying to maintain his relevance by taking potshots at whoever crosses his image.

Honestly, what has he done to justify a corruption-free image? Even his performance as health minister during Covid was a big letdown.

He just let the doctor do all the strategies while he handled the easy portion of buying the vaccine and implementing the giant vaccination centres.

Give yourself a break and do a regular 8am to 5pm job to know what really works under the present circumstances instead of politicking the easy entrepreneurial way.

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