KOTA BARU: The PAS government is studying the possibility of penalising state government servants by not promoting them if they are smokers.

State Women's Development, Family and Health committee chairman Wan Ubaidah Omar said the government was serious in getting the masses to quit smoking.

"The federal and state governments have done a lot to discourage people from smoking and it may be time to take punitive measures," said Wan Ubaidah during the State Legislative Assembly meeting in Kota Darul Naim yesterday.

Wan Ubaidah (PAS-Kijang) said this in response to a supplementary question from Abdul Fattah Harun (PAS-Bukit Tuku) who suggested penalising civil servants in line with the proposal by Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat that PAS leaders who smoked not be given a chance to contest in any general election.

"All the anti-smoking campaigns seem to be going nowhere. I would like to suggest that state leaders set a condition that any assemblyman or civil servant who smokes will not be considered for a promotion," he said.

Earlier, in reply to the original question by Dr Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad (PAS-Gaal) about the state government's efforts to educate the public on the dangers of smoking and measures taken to get smokers to kick the habit, she replied the government had recently organised a state-level workshop for 90 imams to disseminate information on the dangers of smoking.

"I am very disappointed that all the anti-smoking campaigns don't seem to have worked as based on studies almost half of the male population in Kelantan are smokers," she added.

She said the state government had also disallowed smoking in hospitals, clinics, business premises and public areas. -The Star/Asia News Network