About a month ago (December 2018), the Sarawak government said that the smoking ban will not apply to the eateries there but recently, it appears that this has changed.
Yep, the Sarawak government just announced that the smoking ban will now apply to all eateries in the state. In their statement, they wrote that the ban will take effect starting 1 March 2019.
Source: The Star
They reckoned that the decision is to improve the public’s health and eateries will have the option to provide a designated smoking spot if they have the authorities’ approval.
The statement wrote,
“The decision to ban smoking at eating place is for the health of the general public.”
“However, with the approval of the local authorities, licensed operators may designate (a) smoking spot at an area not less than three (3) metres away from the nearest table where food is being served and it shall be the responsibility of the licensee to ensure that such a place is kept clean at all times.”
Seems like a good idea!
You can take a look at the whole statement, which was shared by the Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad via Twitter, below:
Tahniah & Syabas kpd Kabinet Sarawak atas komitmen utk menguatkuasakan Larangan Merokok di premis makan awam (eateries) bermula 1hb Mac 2019.
Tahniah & Syabas kpd Kabinet Sabah yg telah mengumum penguatkuasaan Larangan Merokok bermula 1Februari 2019.
Tahniah Rakyat Malaysia!!! pic.twitter.com/H3YzIB8T8L
— Dzulkefly Ahmad (@DrDzul) January 25, 2019
His tweet was accompanied with a caption that congratulated the Sarawak cabinet’s commitment about enforcing the smoking ban in their eateries.
Adding on, the statement further revealed that the first six months of the smoking ban will be an “educational enforcement period”. Then, six months after 1 March 2019, a fine will be issued to anyone who violates the smoking ban.
In addition, the Sabah state government has also agreed to the smoking ban at all eateries and it will take effect on 1 February 2019. Nice!
Well, this seems like a good step forward to a healthier country. What do you think about the smoking ban being implemented all over Sarawak and Sabah? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: Penang Plans to Be Smoke-Free Island By 2024, To Issue State-Wide Smoking Ban
