Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan
Earlier this week, Malaysian Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad reposted a photo of Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan smoking at a restaurant in Negeri Sembilan state on the southwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Since 2019, Malaysia has applied a law banning smoking at all eateries and restaurants in the country, and moved to issue measures to tighten enforcement in October this year, according to AFP.
“The Office of the Secretary of State has been informed about the above issue,” Health Minister Dzulkefly wrote on account X (former name Twitter) today, December 18, adding that the foreign minister himself also wants to pay a fine for violating the ban.
According to Malaysian law, people found smoking in places where this behavior is prohibited can face a fine of up to 5,000 ringgit (58.5 million VND).
On December 18, Foreign Minister Mohamad apologized and said he had received a notice of violation from health authorities, but the specific fine had not yet been determined.
“If that becomes a concern and problem for the public, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies,” the newspaper said The Star quoted the foreign minister.
“I will pay the fine, and hopefully it won’t be too high,” he added.
A photo of Mr. Mohamad smoking at a roadside restaurant has angered Malaysian public opinion. Most people believe that whether they are ministers or important people, they must be responsible for their own mistakes, and no one is above the rule of law.
There is an opinion that officials should be punished more severely than ordinary people if they break the law.
