Azrul Khalib, CEO of the Galen Centre for Health And Social Policy, said senior representatives from the attorney-general’s chambers were among those who attended meetings to discuss the tobacco control bill over the past two years.
“If there was any consistency to be had, it was the continued assurance from the legal side that the GEG provisions were on the right side of the law, and specifically, the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement today.
His statement disputes the position taken by the attorney-general, who said on Saturday that his department had consistently stated since 2022 that the GEG provisions were unconstitutional for going against the guarantee of equal protection under the law.
“One does not need to speculate on what was said during these meetings as they are faithfully captured by the Hansard, the parliamentary record, which is publicly available online for download from the Parliament website,” said Azrul.
“Was the opinion of the AGC’s representatives since early 2022, when the bill was first proposed and deliberated throughout and into this year, consistent in stating that these provisions were unconstitutional? Check the Hansard,” Azrul said.
Terrirudin had said on Saturday that the AGC had consistently provided legal views since 2022 that the GEG provisions can be challenged in court for being in conflict with Article 8 of the Federal Constitution, which provides equal protection under the law.
The tobacco control bill was introduced in July last year by then health minister Khairy Jamaluddin but met resistance from several MPs. A revised bill was presented in June and subsequently referred to a parliamentary committee.
On Nov 6, the Cabinet decided to drop the GEG provisions from the bill, with Terrirudin reported to have deemed the provisions to be unconstitutional.
Health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said yesterday that the bill will be tabled before the current Dewan Rakyat meeting ends on Nov 30. However, she did not state whether the GEG provisions will be included.