PUTRAJAYA: The Parliament Special Select Committee on Health will finalise its recommendations on the new anti-smoking law by Monday (Sept 18) afternoon, says Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
She said the meeting on the Committee's findings was planned before the Control of Smoking Product for Public Health Bill 2023 was set to be tabled for its second reading in the Dewan Rakyat in October.
“The Committee will be meeting this afternoon to finalise the findings that have been gathered. They’ve also engaged various stakeholders, including a panel of experts," said Dr Zaliha.
“There were a lot of views and proposed amendments, whether we will accept wholly or find a common ground, will be discussed this afternoon,” she added when speaking after an event at The Everly Hotel here on Monday.
Dr Zaliha said among the issues that were discussed by the committee include the compound rate, the tax on tobacco products and the implementation of community service sentences for young offenders.
“We’re open to any suggestions and amendments proposed by the Committee. However, there are no final decisions yet.
“There were issues on the suggested compounds, we will find the best way to deal with it. I have also heard input regarding the cigarette tax — we will finalise this today,” she said.
She added that there was also a suggestion not to impose fines on children who have committed offences under the Bill, suggesting that community service sentences be imposed instead.
The Bill was tabled for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on June 12 and was referred to the Committee for further fine-tuning.
It was first tabled by then-Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin last year and had been sent to the Committee then for fine-tuning due to resistance from several lawmakers.
The revised Bill contains more than 20 recommendations made by the PSSC.
