KUALA SELANGOR, Oct 7 — The Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) has reportedly called for its member food establishments to stop selling cigarettes.

Its president, Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan, was quoted saying that so far, around four in 10 of the 12,000 establishments under the association no longer sell cigarettes.

"We saw an example at a restaurant in Puncak Alam, where earlier the Health Minister presented a letter of appreciation for not selling cigarettes,” he was quoted saying by Astro Awani yesterday.

"I think this is a good direction for the food industry. It’s like this analogy, if alcohol is forbidden, in the past some shops still sold it, but now they no longer do.

"If possible, for restaurants wanting to be fully halal, let’s avoid selling cigarettes in the near future as well,” he added

Additionally, he expressed Presma’s concerns about the implementation of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024, also known as Act 852.

He noted that there is a provision in the Act that allows establishments to be fined for failing to prevent people from smoking on their premises.

"That part concerns us a bit because our authority is quite limited, but we are relieved to have conveyed our views to the Health Minister and his officers,” he reportedly said.

"I’m confident they will come up with a good solution. Everything has already been gazetted, but I believe there should still be some discretion by the officers conducting inspections.”

He also expressed his hope that regular monitoring can be done at premises to cultivate a non-smoking culture at food establishments.

Act 852 was gazetted back in February, but enforcement finally kicked off on October 1 this year.