For the children’s sake, retain fireworks ban

Consequences: A file photo of a 13-year-old suffering from a singed face and injuries to three fingers on his right hand caused by fireworks. — Filepic/The Star

WE read with serious concern the announcement by Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming that the Cabinet has agreed to legalise and regulate fireworks and firecrackers in the country. The reasons provided for this move are to halt the smuggling of these items and to gain from the duties on these items.

Fireworks have been illegal since 1955, and are classified in the same category as dynamite. The Cabinet must realise why fireworks and firecrackers were banned in the first place.