The Malaysian Vape Chamber of Commerce (MVCC) and the Malaysian Vape Industry Advocacy (MVIA) said this showed that many Malaysians opposed the bill.

They urged Putrajaya to heed the voices of the signatories and industry players.

The online petition was launched on the Malaysia Bersuara platform.

In a statement, MVIA president Rizani Zakaria said they had sought a meeting with the parliamentary select committee (PSC) tasked with drafting the bill, but their requests had been ignored.

“Our submissions to health minister Khairy Jamaluddin and the PSC members have also fallen on deaf ears despite our many appeals,” he said.

“The health ministry and PSC cannot only listen to anti-vape individuals and groups. The GEG bill impacts many layers of Malaysian society, and therefore, it should be studied and discussed with all parties before a decision is made.”

MVCC secretary-general Ridhwan Rosli said many in the vape industry have shared their concerns about how the GEG bill will impact them significantly since the policy was mooted in July.

“Beyond affecting Bumiputera entrepreneurs, the GEG bill sets a wrong and negative stance on vape, which has been widely used as a tool for smoking cessation,” he said.

The GEG bill seeks to ban the use, possession and sale of cigarettes and vape products to those born after 2007.

Last week, Khairy said the bill was still being studied by the PSC, but he remained hopeful that the legislation will be tabled in Dewan Rakyat next month.