The "World No Tobacco Day" today also found its way into the PAS annual general meeting or muktamar in Kelantan and to the surprise of many delegates, created quite an impact.

In connection with the event which is observed internationally, woman members in the party declared the venue of their meeting a "no-smoking zone", affecting many of their male counterparts who, malaysiakini later learnt, certainly needed more than just coffee to keep them awake through the long proceeding.

The announcement was made by Dr Lo' Lo' Mohd Ghazali, who is the director of Amal Nisa' Wal Banat unit, a uniform body under the women's wing which focusses on recreation and welfare for members.

"PAS has always taken pro-active steps to tackle tobacco problems for the good of mankind," said Lo' Lo', one of only four women in the party's 35-member, male-dominated central working committee.

Saying that the no-smoking rule was declared in conjunction with the 'World No Tobacco Day' today, she urged party members to abide by the ruling.

She also hoped that the no-smoking rule will eventually be introduced to all party centres throughout the country.

Effective this afternoon, smoking is officially forbidden in the Pusat Tarbiyah Islamiah Kelantan, a religious training centre in Kota Baru which is the venue of PAS 48th AGM.

Earlier, Lo' Lo' presented a banner with the words "World Tobacco Free Day" to party president Fadzil Mohd Nor in the presence of some 1,000 delegates, mostly men. The banner was later hung at the main gate of the venue.

Later, meeting speaker Abu Kassim Abdullah wished the women's wing good luck in their anti-smoking campaign "although there could be no 100 percent success".

Smokers' excuses

Kassim couldn't be more right. During an evening tea-break, many delegates started to defy the no-smoking rule and were seen puffing away in groups of two and five at the back of the hall.

One delegate told malaysiakini , "I know they mean well. But coffee does not have enough 'kick' to sustain our attention. The programme for the day is really long, you know."

The first day of the AGM started at 9am. Though there are breaks in between for refreshment and tea, the first day is expected to end around midnight as there will be a video conferencing with several international Muslim movements later at 10.15pm.

The three-day meeting will continue tomorrow at 8.45am with a vote on the proposed resolutions and debate on the presidential speech. According to the schedule, the second day will end at 12 midnight after an indoor ceramah (political gathering).