KUALA LUMPUR: Wednesday will be a sugar-free day in Parliament from the upcoming meeting, says Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
"Every Wednesday in the coming Parliament meeting will be a sugar-free day.The ruling covers all who are in Parliament including the media," he said when speaking to reporters after an engagement session with the media in Parliament on Wednesday (Sept 25).
He said the ruling will be enforced at the start of the Parliament meeting which will run from Oct 14 to Dec 12 and will ensure that sugar is not added to drinks such as teh-tarik.
"If you want to bring in tea, you have to see if there is sugar in it or not.The move is being done so that we will become a more healthy society," he added.
On Sept 8, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim reminded people to take health knowledge seriously, particularly regarding the dangers of excessive sugar consumption.
Anwar said this is due to the fact that Malaysia has the highest number of diabetes cases in Southeast Asia, reflecting that the level of health literacy among the people in the country remains low.
Meanwhile, Johari said that he will continue with the practice of getting MPs to go for mandatory medical examinations and declare their health status.
"After making it mandatory, I have been getting their reports; many that I have met said that they discovered that they have illnesses following the health screenings. They are now undergoing treatment and taking medication," he said.
He noted that MPs should be fit to serve their constituencies.
"Their health does not only affect them personally but can also affect their ability to serve the thousands of voters who had voted for them," he noted.
In July this year, Johari announced mandatory health screening for all MPs which had to be done by November this year.
Last year, Johari said he had seen at least 11 MPs collapse during his time in the House over the past 15 years.
