Malaysia's New Minister Of Health Apologizes To The National Assembly For Deleting The GEG Clause in The Public Health Smoking Product Control Act

According to FMT on December 14th, Malaysia's new Minister of Health, Dzulkefly Ahmad, apologized to the National Assembly for excluding the End of Generation (GEG) clause in the 2023 Public Health Smoking Product Control Act.
When submitting the Public Health Smoking Product Control Act for approval by the National Assembly, Zukifi acknowledged public concerns about excluding the GEG clause, which should have banned the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products to people born after 2007.
Zukifi was a former chairman of the Health Affairs Congressional Committee responsible for adjusting the bill, and he explained that before the bill was finally passed by the House of Representatives on November 30th, various health ministers were involved in its formulation. He also stated that 18 stakeholder meetings and three roundtable discussions were held before finalizing the bill.
"I apologize to you a million times, and I sincerely appeal to you not to diminish the importance of the bill and to require all of you to pass it, as it has been taking a long time to develop."
One of the goals of the GEG Act is to prohibit the sale and purchase of tobacco products, smoking items, tobacco substitutes, or the provision of smoking services to minors.
After a tense debate in Congress, the House of Commons passed the bill, and both sides expressed disappointment with the removal of the GEG clause.
Previously, Malaysian Attorney General Ahmad Trirudin Saleh stated that the GEG clause violated the right to equal protection under the law. Dr. Zaliha Mustafa, then Minister of Health, stated that the government has decided to remove the GEG provisions in the revised version of the bill because they are unconstitutional.
However, she emphasized that the Ministry of Health has not abolished these regulations. On the contrary, she said this is just a temporary hold, "currently," and if needed in the future, the government may resume proposing this law.
Although some claim that the Ministry of Health is under pressure from lobbyists to include GEG clauses, Zaliha emphasizes that there are no other factors involved besides the views of the Attorney General.
Zukifi also stated that although the Health Affairs Congressional Committee and the Department of Health wish to include GEG provisions in the bill, it is impossible because the Attorney General's Office believes that this would violate Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.