GEORGE TOWN: The Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) has welcomed the assurance given by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad that the law would be strictly enforced after Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan was purportedly caught smoking at an eatery.
CAP education officer and anti-smoking activist NV Subbarow said Dr Dzulkefly must keep to his promise.
"We urge the Health Minister to impose the maximum fine so that all smokers, including VIPs, will stop smoking in no-smoking areas.
"We urge the Health Ministry to be very firm on the offenders without double standards as promised by the Health Minister," he told the New Straits Times.
Earlier today, Dr Dzulkefly, in a post on his social media handle, said an officer from the Seremban district health office would pay Mohamad a 'visit' to issue him with a compound for smoking in a no-smoking zone.
In the post on his X, Dr Dzulkefly said a compound would be issued for smoking in an undesignated place and the matter had been related to Mohamad.
A photograph of Mohamad holding a cigarette while seated with a group of people at an eatery has gone viral, with many calling on authorities to act on his wrongdoing.
Subbarow said it was not so much about paying the compound as Mohamad himself had asked to be issued the compound.
"This is about ministers who passed the bill in the Parliament.
"They must strictly adhere to the very act," he added.
Subbarow reiterated that the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852), which came into effect on Oct 1, must be strictly enforced.
Under the Control of Tobacco Product (Amendment) Regulations 2018, anyone caught smoking in a no-smoking area can be fined up to RM10,000 and face up to two years' imprisonment, while business owners who fail to display a no-smoking sign may be fined up to RM3,000 or sentenced up to six months in jail.
Section 16 of Act 852 meanwhile states that anyone who smokes in an area declared as a non-smoking zone can be fined up to RM5,000.
Mohamad has sincerely apologised for his action for smoking in a prohibited area.