It looks as if Malaysia has suddenly grown a conscience. Contradicting itself, the Ministry of Health now wants to remove all advertisements and make health warnings on cigarette boxes mandatory.
Malaysia’s sudden flip-flop is however beyond the pale. Consider this: first the government decided to be a party to a joint legal suit at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) involving 37 countries against Australia’s decision to execute plain packaging on tobacco packs.
Then, in a spineless fashion, it backed out of its decision to put in place plain packaging in 2013, after learning of the attack against the Australian government by tobacco giant Philip Morris International for enacting a similar measure.
So what’s really happening here?
It seems like the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Health Ministry are not consulting each other on policy decisions. Maybe MITI is the big bully here.
The question that arises is which ministry is responsible for public health policy?
I find it completely preposterous that on one hand, the Ministry of Health suggests that plain packaging is a necessary tool to reduce smoking, but the Minister of International Trade and Industry joins the bandwagon stymieing another country’s efforts to enforce a similar law.
Malaysia’s recent decision is commendable, nevertheless. But can it really enforce its decision given that it’s a party to the Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and may face potential legal backlash after plain packaging for cigarette packets is legislated for?
Even governments of Canada and New Zealand have put their plans on the backburner, fearing that they too would be dragged to an arbitration centre by a tobacco giant like Philip Morris.
Today, fifteen other countries aside from Australia have either been sued by a tobacco multinational or have shelved their plans for plain packaging.
Although Philip Morris’ case against the Australian government was dismissed, that was only decided on its jurisdiction and does not answer the question as to whether a corporation could challenge a government’s health policy simply because it reduces its profits.
While the Ministry of Health is confident that the TPPA will not open a minefield of suits against Malaysia, the government must realise the practical reality of the manner in which these tobacco firms operate.
The TPPA will allow tobacco leaf growers to sue Malaysia if their investments are hurt and even pave the way for ‘treaty shopping’ by tobacco companies. And Malaysia’s other FTA agreements have provisions for us to be sued.
Philip Morris deployed this tactic when taking on the Australian government. The TPPA will provide further ammunition for a similar card to be played.
It’s certainly reassuring the government wants to promote a progressive public health policy in the interests of its people, especially since at least 20,000 Malaysians die yearly due to smoking and almost one in four people smoke daily.
But these efforts are being undermined by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
Thus its Minister, Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamed, has got a lot of explaining to do.
Firstly, he must come clean on whether or not his ministry supports the Ministry of Health’s call for plain packaging.