FORMER health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has accused two ministers and a prime minister of blocking a bill aimed at making it illegal for those born after 2007 to buy or consume nicotine products.

Taking the matter to Instagram, Khairy wrote that the two ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department were Legal and Institutional Reform Minister Azalina Othman Said and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing.

While Putrajaya has not provided recent updates on the bill, health watchdog CodeBlue had claimed the cabinet had decided to drop provisions related to the tobacco and vape ban based on age, commonly referred to as the “generational end-game” (GEG), from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023.

Khairy orchestrated the GEG bill when he was the health minister and slammed the current administration for its handling of the matter.

“Absolutely shambolic,” he said.

He argued that when he was in charge of the bill, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) did not object to it but that position has now changed.

“Do you know why? A fierce critic of the GEG is none other than the law minister herself. She doesn’t want it passed.

“Big opponents of the GEG in the cabinet are the law minister, tourism minister and the gaffer,” he said.

“The gaffer” Khairy was referring to is Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. 

According to CodeBlue, Attorney-General Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Salleh was of the opinion that the GEG provisions were “unconstitutional” because they violated article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which guaranteed equality before the law.

Khairy had repeatedly argued that the GEG was necessary to protect public health as public spending on treatment for smoking and vaping-related illnesses was far higher than the taxes collected from the industry. –  November 15, 2023.