GEORGE TOWN, Dec 22 — The government intends to create a special law to protect contributors and also recipients of the Food Bank Malaysia Programme (FBMP) by the end of next year.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister (KPDNHEP) Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this had been raised in the Cabinet and the target was to table the law in parliament by the end of 2019.
He said the programme would be implemented nationwide from January next year which would run simultaneously with the formulation of the law to protect not only aid recipients but also the contributors.
‘’But before the process of formulating the law, we must study the experiences of nations such as France, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, South Africa and Singapore because they had implemented the programme.
‘’In adopting the experiences of other countries, we must also have our own local mould,’’ he said after the launching of FBMP at the Komplek Masyarakat Penyayang here today.
Saifuddin, who is also Pantai Jerejak State Assemblyman, said that among the components of a local mould which must be focused on was halal food from hotels.
‘’The elements of the law must encompass all aspects and halal food is a sensitive matter and must be taken seriously to prevent any problem from arising,’’ he said.
‘’For example, now international brands who become contributors are worried that if they contribute and there is a slight flaw which results in the end user encountering a problem, they will be exposed to legal action.
‘’So, we have to scrutinise all aspects like that so that all the fears are answered after the new law is tabled,’’ he said.
Earlier, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng represented Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to launch the programme. — Bernama
