GEORGE TOWN – The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) has urged the public to stop burning their hard-earned money on fireworks and firecrackers.
CAP president SM Mohamad Idris stressed that Malaysians spent millions of ringgit on firecrackers and fireworks which were not only deemed unnecessary but also dangerous.
Apart from being a great nuisance to the public, Idris warned that fireworks and firecrackers could potentially cause damage to individual’s life and properties and they are particularly unsafe to young children.
“Money is hard to come by, yet easy to let go, so why spend all the hard-earned cash on fireworks and firecrackers when it could be used for something more important such as paying loans?” he questioned.
Idris also expressed his concerns that the explosives were still readily available and even openly sold to the extent where sales were being promoted through social media platforms such as WhatsApp.
He said the sale of illegal firecrackers and fireworks could only be stopped through strict enforcement and the cooperation from the public in not buying the contraband.
He also urged the Customs Department and the police to intensify nationwide crackdown on the smuggling and sales of fireworks and firecrackers, Bernama reports
Under Section 4(2) of the Explosives Act 1957, anyone found to be manufacturing, possessing or importing firecrackers and fireworks can be jailed not less than five years or fined RM10,000 or both.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Idris suggested the laws should be amended to include a mandatory jail sentence for smugglers including the confiscation of one’s property and assets, as well as the contraband.
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