Tiong slams KJ for blaming other ministers for tobacco generational endgame bill’s failure

Dato Seri Tiong King Sing. Photo credit: MOTAC

KUCHING, Nov 16: Tourism, Arts, and Culture (Motac) Minister Dato Sri Tiong King Sing has criticised former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s proposed Generational End Game (GEG) Bill for lacking a solid basis for defence due to consistently failing to prove that smoking habits cause cancer, as well as for blaming other ministers for the Bill’s failure.

According to Tiong, the former health minister also failed to establish a research centre or similar institution to analyse and further research the detailed data of cancer patients in the country.

It was reported that in June 2022, Khairy attempted to address the issue of smoking and vaping among the youths by introducing the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022 (first version of the Bill). The Bill, dubbed as the Generational Endgame (GEG), was proposed to end generational smoking for those born in 2007 and after.

“I found former Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin’s insistence on the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 or the GEG Bill to be unreasonable and ‘confusing’.

“Implementing high pressure and forced action, particularly in the 21st century and in this civilised society, is analogous to a parent caning or punishing their child without a motion to check.

“His response was that he could not accept the decision that this Bill was unconstitutional and unenforceable,” Tiong wrote today in a Facebook post.

He questioned who should be held responsible if the Bill is hastily implemented and ultimately results in numerous weaknesses and criticisms, leading to widespread public complaints.

“Ironically, throughout his tenure as Minister of Health, apart from trying to improve his own popularity and image, what other contribution has he made to our country’s health system? If not, he should not point the finger at other ministers including me for the failure of the GEG Bill to be approved,” he asserted.

Tiong, who is also Bintulu MP, noted that he repeatedly expressed doubts about the Bill when sitting in Parliament.

“At that time, in addition to not giving detailed answers, Khairy was also seen to have never answered my questions related to the matter specifically. What is more extreme is when he released the statement that the B40 group is the majority group affected by diseases such as cancer, heart diseases, and lung-related diseases due to smoking complications.

“The fact is that many cancer patients do not have a history of smoking, and even rarely smell cigarette smoke in their daily lives. So, how can their condition and experience related to cancer be explained?” he claimed.

Furthermore, the Bintulu MP mentioned that he repeatedly emphasised that he does not support or encourage smoking.

“The rest of the world, including New Zealand, also cannot implement similar measures. So, why do we need to hurry and can’t we take a more harmonious and friendly approach, starting from the aspect of education and awareness?

“Awareness is fostered at the preschool education level by giving children an understanding of the dangers of smoking, indirectly instilling awareness in them not to smoke by adulthood,” Tiong remarked.

Yesterday, multiple news outlets reported that Khairy placed blame on Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said, Tiong, and an individual referred to as ‘the gaffer’ for allegedly obstructing the Bill. — DayakDaily