Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) vice-president Abdul Mukthahir M Ibrahim also claimed there are “inconsistencies” in the enforcement of the rules.
“Some enforcement officers seem to find an easy way out by issuing a summon to the restaurant owner instead of customers who are flouting the no-smoking rule. This is absolutely unfair,” he told FMT.
Mukthahir said that Presma fully supports the no-smoking rule in their restaurants and that they had several meetings with the health ministry a few years ago supporting the move.
“In one of the meetings, the officer in charge said that as long as there are no-smoking signs and no ashtrays on the table, the owners will not be fined.
“However, not long after that one of our members in Negeri Sembilan was issued a fine despite following all the rules,” he said.
Mukthahir added that about half of Presma members have since been issued summons for this offence throughout Malaysia.
“The health ministry should have clear guidelines and not burden business owners as they are only now allowed to have customers dine in after numerous MCOs.
“I brought up this issue with the officers at the health ministry but it fell on deaf ears,” he said when commenting on health minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s call for stricter enforcement against smoking at eateries.
Under the Control of Tobacco Product (Amendment) Regulations 2018, anyone caught smoking in a no-smoking area could be fined up to RM10,000 and face up to two years imprisonment, while any business owner who fails to display a no-smoking sign may be fined up to RM3,000 or sentenced to up to six months in jail.
Wong Teu Hoon, president of the Malaysia Singapore Proprietors General Association also told FMT that despite all their eateries following the rules since they were implemented, uncooperative customers were the ones causing them trouble.
“Until today we still have customers being stubborn and smoking at the corridors outside our restaurants,” he said.
He said that this was not the fault of the restaurant owners and hoped the government would understand their predicament.
Wong also believed that the rule in itself was not effective in discouraging smoking at eateries and said that educating people about the rule is a better solution.
Restaurant and Bistro Owners Association media adviser Jeremy Lim told FMT that putting up more no-smoking signs at their premises will not help curb smoking incidents at eateries.
Lim said that education and engagement is the key to reducing incidences of smoking at eateries. He also suggested setting up dedicated smoking zones for smokers inside the eateries.
“That way, if a customer wants to smoke, they can go to the smoking area instead of smoking at their table,” he said.