KOTA KINABALU: Leave the ‘Ghost Smoke’ candy matter to the federal government but practise responsible innovation when creating products for the people, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
In response to the press on the Sabah government’s stance on the ‘Ghost Smoke’ candy matter, Shafie said Sabah will leave the matter in the hands of the Health Ministry even though the State Government has its own opinion on the matter.
“We just ask that this thing be dealt with properly because it has elements that seem to encourage children, when eating candies to be as if smoking,” he said, after officiating at the Sabah State Library Tanjung Aru branch launch here yesterday.
“We (Malaysia) are in (the midst of) our no smoking efforts and campaigns. (It would be disappointing) if there are steps encouraging children to go towards that direction at a young level. We want innovation, but what sort of values do we want to inculcate? We want candies that can capture the market, can get people to buy so (that) we can get some profit, but, at the same time, it is synonymous with smoking. That sort of innovation doesn’t blend well with the culture that we want,” Shafie pointed out.
Shafie said, good values that do not contradict government’s goals must be inculcated into innovation.
“We want good value content to enable us to move forward. We cannot micro-manage human life, what more eating candies, but, at least, if there are elements that are a bit contradictory…do not encourage it very much,” he said.
We have our own opinion, how best we can address this issue, but it is up to the Ministry of Health,” in responding to the press when asked whether the state government would allow the ‘Ghost Smoke’ candy product to be sold in Sabah.
Although the Health Ministry did not find any forbidden ingredients in the controversial candies, Deputy Health minister, Dr. Lee Boon Chye, said, the ministry remains firm in its decision to ban the product as it mimics smoking and could encourage children to take up the habit.
Dr. Lee also revealed on July 23 that the ministry had formed a task force to scrutinize the ingredients of the candy, whilst the enforcement personnel with the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry had launched a nationwide crackdown on the confection.