The Dewan Rakyat voted to refer the bill through a voice vote. Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin had tabled the bill for its second reading and debate yesterday.
The bill, dubbed the Generational End Game (GEG) bill, seeks to ban the use, possession and sale of cigarettes and vape products for those born after 2007.
It has been met with resistance from several quarters, including MPs and industry players.
Khairy said he agreed to refer the bill to the PSC to ensure that a comprehensive law was passed.
“This is no ordinary bill as it has no history in this country or any other country for that matter,” he said, acknowledging that more time was needed to refine the bill.
The Rembau MP stressed that cigarettes were the “deadliest invention in human history” and urged all MPs to support the bill once it is re-tabled in the lower house.
Khairy said the PSC would be able to suggest improvements to the current bill, scrutinise the clauses related to penalties as well as consider the recommendations of MPs and the PSC on health and the PSC on women, children affairs and social development.
He added that the PSC would produce a report on its recommended improvements within a month’s time or no later than the start of the next parliamentary sitting.
Earlier, health PSC chairman Dr Kelvin Yii said a review of the bill, which was tabled last week, was not an attempt to delay its implementation.
“(A) review of the bill is not an attempt to further delay it. The timeline for its implementation will not be affected since it has been agreed (for it) to be delayed for two years,” he said in a statement.
Previously, Khairy made a concession to postpone the generational tobacco ban to those born from 2007, instead of 2005, amid unclear support from MPs for the bill.
Yii, who is Bandar Kuching MP, said today the committee could commit to working on the bill extensively, with the target for it to be one of the first items on the agenda in the upcoming Parliament session in October.
Khairy will chair the PSC, which will include Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling), Nizar Zakaria (BN-Parit), Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang), Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah), Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas), Lukanisman Awang Sauni (GPS-Sibuti), Dr Kelvin Yii (PH-Bandar Kuching), Sivarasa Rasiah (PH-Sungai Buloh), Dzulkefly Ahmad (PH-Kuala Selangor), Wilfred Madius Tangau (Upko-Tuaran), Darell Leiking (Warisan-Penampang) and Mukhriz Mahathir (Pejuang-Jerlun).
Yesterday, Khairy agreed to reduce penalties for offences under the bill, following recommendations from two PSCs.
Fines will be reduced from RM5,000 to RM500 with community service as an option instead of a fine at the discretion of the courts, he said in a Twitter posting.
Anyone under 18 years old will not be subjected to a body search and no punishment will be meted for possession of controlled tobacco-related articles listed in the bill.
Yii had earlier called for the plan to be postponed by three years, saying the new proposed law should only be enforced after an assessment was completed and debated in Parliament.
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