KUALA LUMPUR – A Perikatan Nasional MP who was spotted allegedly vaping in the Dewan Rakyat has denied being a smoker, clarifying instead that he was holding a pen to his mouth.
Bersatu’s Tanah Merah MP Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz also said that he was one of the lawmakers who had backed former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s generational end game tobacco bill, which seeks to outlaw smoking for those born from 2007 onwards.
“Everyone knows that I am not a smoker. I can’t stand being next to one, what more vaping,” Ikmal was quoted as saying by FMT.
He also said that he would explain the matter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul if the latter issues a letter on Ikmal’s apparent misconduct.
Yesterday, netizens took to Twitter to condemn the opposition MP’s “unparliamentary” behaviour after a photo of the lawmaker supposedly vaping was shared on the social media platform by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official photographer, Sadiq Asyraf.
Ikmal was captured in a shot depicting the opposition’s walkout from the Dewan Rakyat after Putrajaya MP Datuk Radzi Jidin was booted out of the lower House for causing a ruckus.
In the photo, Ikmal was seen holding an object to his mouth as Anwar, who is also Tambun MP, stood at his spot to deliver his winding-up speech on the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-term Review in Parliament, which is a non-smoking area.
Commenting on the post, DAP’s Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan briefly called on Ikmal to respect the Dewan as other Twitter users chimed in to criticise the opposition lawmaker for his “unbecoming” and “rude” act. – September 21, 2023