KUALA LUMPUR: Strategies that focus only on punitive measures will not reduce the growing burden of non communicable diseases, said Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Health Minister said the ministry is implementing campaigns to reduce sugar intake and smoking.
Dzulkefly told the Dewan Rakyat these initiatives will not succeed without a shift in public behaviour.
He said a transformation with greater emphasis on behavioural aspects is needed to ensure public health interventions are effective nationwide.
“The ministry is prioritising efforts to ensure the public becomes more informed and aware of the importance of health through accurate and easily understood information,” he said on Monday (Oct 27).
“When awareness increases, the next approach is to apply behavioural insight methods to help society change habits towards a healthy lifestyle effectively and sustainably,” he added.
Dzulkefly was responding to a question from Datuk Adnan Abu Hassan (BN-Kuala Pilah) on initiatives to curb rising NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.
At the same time, Dzulkefly said behavioural change among the public remains very challenging.
“People know what is ideal and best for themselves, yet why do they not do it? It may be due to financial constraints, access to healthier options or time limitations,” he said.
“This strategy cannot rely solely on punishments such as fines. We want the public to be health literate first, and that is the challenge we face,” added Dzulkefly.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi (Perikatan Nasional Kuala Langat), who claimed the ministry’s campaigns have yet to succeed.
