Their lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla said High Court judge Azizah Nawawi allowed the group to challenge the anti-smoking rule which came into effect on Jan 1.

“However, the court did not give any order to stop the ban pending the full hearing. She (Azizah) does not want to interfere with the operation of the law,” he said, adding that the court wished to hear the arguments from the group and government over the ban.

Haniff said the court also allowed the group to seek a court declaration that the smoking ban was unconstitutional.

Mention will be held on Feb 12.

The group, which calls itself Defenders of Smokers’ Rights, filed their legal challenge on Dec 31, 2018, a day before the ban came into effect.

They said the ban violated their rights under the constitution by arguing that smoking is not a crime under Malaysian laws.

“The government did not take any step to meet smokers and listen to our grouses before making the decision to ban smoking,” it said.

The group also questioned the ban, saying it was unreasonable as the government was still collecting taxes from the tobacco industry.

Starting Jan 1, those caught smoking in restaurants face a RM10,000 fine. Restaurant owners who fail to adhere to the ban will be fined RM2,500.

The government however said it would not impose the fine during the six months so as to allow the public to be educated.