He said he had already met with the Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof on the enforcement of the smoking ban in the building.

“In the meeting, the ministry has highlighted that the removal of the smoking room in the Parliament building is in line with Article 8 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which aims to protect non-smokers from the danger of cigarette smoke, and the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004.

“The enforcement is to show the importance of protecting the people’s health and it must start from the Parliament,” he said in a statement.

Dzulkefly, however, said a temporary smoking area would be provided outside the Parliament building until an alternative smoking area could be provided.

He also said that a programme to quit smoking would be offered in Parliament.

Today, Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul said that no minister had the right to issue notices in Parliament without the speaker’s permission.

His statement was supported by Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin.

On Tuesday, the first day of enforcement of the ban on smoking in the Parliament building, saw an MP and seven others fined for breaking the rule.

The smoking ban in Parliament took effect on Oct 15, ahead of a new law next year to ban smoking at restaurants, food outlets and hawker stalls.