Opting out of smoking ban not a ‘hero’ move – Voon

KUCHING: Choosing not to implement the smoking ban at eateries in Sarawak would not be a wise or ‘ hero’ move, said Parti Keadilan Rakyat ( PKR) Women national vicechief Voon Shiak Ni.

In a statement, she called on Minister of Local Government and Housing Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian not to unnecessarily delay implementing the smoking ban in Sarawak.

She questioned what is stopping Sarawak from implementing the nationwide ban by the Ministry of Health and supported by the federal Ministry of Local Government, which entered its fourth day of implementation yesterday.

Voon claimed that the ban has been well-accepted, with netizens sharing how eateries have much cleaner air now.

“In Kuching, I observed that smokers at the coffee shop I used to eat at did not light (sic) in the coffee shop.

“It is not a surprise that the smoking ban actually creates social duty awareness among the public.

“Most of our people will follow because they want to part of the good cause to safeguard public health. We hope that Dr Sim will be mindful not to underestimate the civic-mindedness or sense of social responsibility of our Sarawakians, and that opting to be the odd one out of the nationwide smoking ban is not a wise nor a ‘hero’ move,” she said.

Voon said the public’s health and welfare should be above politics and must be done even if it may cause some loss of support from dissenting groups.

She added Malaysians ought to know that the government is not banning smoking in general.

“It is always difficult to start, but in many cases, it is not as difficult as we expect after all once we are determined to embrace the change,” she said.