“I didn’t know that. Can anyone pressure him (KJ)? Is he able to be pressured?” Tengku Zafrul told reporters after an event here.

On Tuesday, Khairy alleged that he was pressured by the finance ministry to delist nicotine from the Poisons Act when he was the health minister but had resisted the move.

Speaking in his weekly “Keluar Sekejap” podcast, Khairy said the finance ministry told him then that the government would be able to collect taxes on nicotine products if the substance was removed from the Act.

He said it was not the health minister’s responsibility to help increase the government’s revenue but to ensure that public health and safety were safeguarded.

Tengku Zafrul served as finance minister when Khairy was health minister under Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration.