Ikmal Hisham denies claims of vaping in Dewan Rakyat

SHAH ALAM - Tanah Merah MP Ikmal Hisham denies using an electronic cigarette or vape in the Dewan Rakyat after an image of him holding a cylindrical object had gone viral on social media.

Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported he was holding a pen and not a vape.

"Everyone knows I am not a smoker.

"I cannot stand sitting next to one (smoker), let alone smoke, vaping is further out of the question,” he said.

It was reported that the image had gone viral on social media when the photographer to the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Sadiq Asyraf uploaded the image on X with a caption ‘someone was really torn, immediately vaping while leaving the hall’.

It followed the commotion from a comment made by Anwar towards Putrajaya MP Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.

Ikmal, a Perikatan Nasional (PN) MP, said he was prepared to explain the matter to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul through a letter.

He reiterated that he supported the 2022 Tobacco and Smoking Control Bill introduced by former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Previously, in 2020, then Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was compounded for vaping in Dewan Rakyat.

However, Hishammuddin did not reveal the fine released by the Health Ministry and apologised after netizens condemned him for his offence during the Parliament sitting.