Irate Khairy Lashes Out At Bung Moktar, Calls Him Enemy Of Public Health
Former Umno man Khairy Jamaluddin hits out at Sabah Umno chief Bung Moktar Radin.
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Former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin did not hold back today as he lashed out at Datuk Bung Moktar Radin in an Instagram Story.
Posting a photo of the Kinabatangan parliamentarian, the former Umno man labelled Bung Moktar as the “enemy of public health”.
Not only that, he also wrote “Pakyu Mokhtar Radin. Nasib baik Sabah tak jatuh kat kamu.”
We have reason to believe Pakyu is not a term of endearment and we shall leave it to your imagination to figure out what exactly Khairy was trying to say.
Enemy of public health. Wants to oppose the law to control smoking products. Opposed it when I was minister. Still opposes it. Probably thinks smoking doesn’t cause cancer. Pakyu Mokhtar Radin. Nasib baik Sabah tak jatuh kat kamu.
Khairy Jamaluddin on Instagram
Checks on social media found that Bung Moktar, who is also Sabah Umno chief, has yet to react to Khairy’s accusations.
Prior to his “Pakyu” post, Khairy shared a screenshot of a Health Ministry statement which could have been what triggered his angry post directed at Bung Moktar.
The statement was on a toddler who was hospitalised after it was believed she had ingested or inhaled vape liquid.
READ MORE: Two-Year-Old Hospitalised, Suspected Of Inhaling Or Ingesting Vape Liquid
On the screenshot, Khairy commented: “Pass the smoking control bill WITH the GEG now.”
TRP has reached out to Bung Moktar for comments.
Generational End Game Bill
When he was the health minister, Khairy had championed the Control of Tobacco Product and Smoking Bill 2022 in which cigarettes and tobacco and vape products will be banned for those born from 2007.
It was dubbed the generational end game (GEG) bill. However, the tabling did not materialise prior to the parliament being dissolved last year. After a change in government following the 15th General Election (GE15), the bill has yet to be tabled in Parliament.
Where does Bung Moktar stand?
Earlier this year, Bung Moktar asked the current health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa to prioritise equal heathcare access instead of anti-smoking initiatives.
According to Code Blue, when debating the 2023 Budget, Bung Moktar highlighted factors that made Sabah poor, and one of it was insufficient access to health care.
He asked the ministry to look at improving healthcare nationwide instead of looking at “cigarettes and all sorts of things” which he deemed as not important.
“What is important is raising the quality of health care at all levels. That’s important.
“As a minister, you should look at this as a priority; don’t be swayed by the opinions of the past minister,” he said, as reported by Code Blue.
Back in 2018, a smoking ban was imposed for the Parliament building. When a parliamentarian was issued a fine for violating the ban, Bung Moktar reacted by saying the Health Ministry was discriminating against MPs who smoke.
He told Free Malaysia Today that even the LGBT community had rights, so what about the smokers?
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