PETALING JAYA: Deputy health minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni has urged MPs and senators to act as role models and quit smoking to supplement the government’s efforts to eliminate the habit in society.
According to Bernama, Lukanisman said many members of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara are heavy smokers.
Urging them to drop the habit, the deputy minister said they would be acting as role models since they are members of the highest legislative body in the nation.
“Enforcement of the law (Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill 2023) should be taken seriously,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara.
He also suggested that Dewan Negara president Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar advise senators and MPs who smoke to kick the habit.
Lukanisman was responding to a supplementary question from Senator Dr Wan Martina Wan Yusoff, who asked about the ministry’s legal measures to curb smoking among younger Malaysians.