The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) should ask the government to ban smoking and not just complain to the mufti (state religious advisers) if they are really serious about promoting the health of the Malaysian people, said a member of the National Fatwa Council today.

A fatwa [religious edict] issued by the National Fatwa Council [which is comprised of mufti ] will only have effect on the Muslim community. Why are they [MMA] just targeting one segment of society alone? queried Haji Harussani Zakaria in an interview with malaysiakini today.

Earlier today, MMA, the body representing the medical profession, was reported in a few local dailies to have expressed their intention to push for the enforcement of the smoking is haram (forbidden) fatwa by meeting with the various state religious councils.

Only three states (Selangor, Kedah and Perlis) have to this date adopted the fatwa which was issued by the National Fatwa Council in 1995, but no action has ever been taken against those who do smoke in these states.

According to Zakaria, once the fatwa is published in the newspapers, it automatically becomes the law.

We can only issue the fatwa . It is then up to the government to enforce it.

And if it is in the national interest to stop people from smoking, the government should just impose an absolute ban on the sale of cigarettes, which will stop all Malaysians from smoking, and not just the Muslims,  added Zakaria.

Right and timely

On the same note, the Muslim Scholars Association of Malaysia (PUM) today heralded the move by MMA to push for enforcement of the smoking fatwa as right and timely.

Their efforts are in line with the ulama s [religious scholars] stand on smoking. It is a positive direction toward phasing out this bane on society.

It is awful when you have to walk into a room full of people who are smoking. It becomes impossible to breathe, lamented Ghani Shamsudin, president of PUM, to malaysiakini .

Ghani further commented that society should come to the realisation that smoking destroys health.

It is true that a smoking ban should not merely be imposed on the Muslims. After all, smoking is widespread in all races. But the bottom line is that any element which is destructive should be gotten rid of, added Ghani.