Smoking Bill pushed back

THE move to table and pass the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023 by this month is no longer possible.

This comes as the Health Ministry announced a survey to get public feedback on the anti-smoking Bill via the MySejahtera app, whereas Budget 2024 is also scheduled to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow.

A source said there will be no time for the ministry to table the Bill for the second reading once debates on the budget begins.

“Budget 2024 is expected to be passed by the third week of November.

“This leaves the Health Ministry with four days, which is the end of November, unless the Dewan Rakyat extends the sitting by one to two days into December,” the source said.

The third meeting of the Dewan Rakyat which commenced on Oct 9 is expected to end on Nov 30.

It is the usual practice for government Bills to be tabled and passed in the last week of the meeting.

“There is a possibility of the (anti-smoking) Bill being pulled back if there is resistance from certain quarters,” said the source.

A Health Ministry official confirmed that there has yet to be a date for the tabling of the Bill.

Although the ministry has yet to get a date from Parliament on the date of the tabling, the official said the ministry is still set on tabling the Bill during the current meeting of the Dewan Rakyat.

Last Thursday, Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa announced that the Bill would be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday after it was given the nod from the Cabinet. It has since been postponed.

The Bill was tabled for its first reading in June this year before being sent to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) for further review.

This was not the first time the anti-smoking Bill was sent to the PSSC for review and fine-tuning.

The original Bill, known as the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022, was first tabled by then health minister Khairy Jamaluddin last year.