DBKL mulls having more non-smoking zones

Khairul Anuar (right) inspecting the sticker on a school bus. Looking on is Chandrakant (left).

KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will consider expanding the coverage of non-smoking zones to include public areas in hotels in the city.

DBKL Executive Director (Management) Khairul Anuar Md Juri said, however, further discussion was needed.

“We are working with the Health Ministry and we need their approval before we can implement such measures,” he said.

Meanwhile, DBKL and the Health Ministry, he said, will step up enforcement operations to ensure compliance at non-smoking zones.

These areas will include government office premises, public parks, food courts, covered walkways and public transport stations.

Khairul Anuar said more than 1,500 compounds had been issued this year as of Feb 28 for smoking offences in restricted zones in Kuala Lumpur.

“Each compound is RM250. Failure to pay will result in court action against the offender,” he said after launching the Cigarette Smoke Free at MYSchoolBus@Wilayah campaign at Dataran DBKL in Jalan Raja Laut.

Under this campaign, anti-smoking posters will be pasted on the buses to increase awareness of the associated health risks among students.

Kuala Lumpur Bebas Asap Rokok (KLBAR) committee deputy chairman Chandrakant Patel said the campaign hoped to reach some 11,000 students citywide.

“MYSchoolBus@Wilayah involved 8,000 students from people’s housing projects and another 3,000 from private low-cost housing,” he said.

KLBAR is an initiative under Local Agenda 21, a programme under DBKL which aims to create a conducive socio-economic environment for city folk.

Separately, Khairul Anuar said DBKL saw a 7% increase in the number of applications for the freebus service under MYSchoolBus@Wilayah.

“We recorded a total of 9,620 applications for the 2023-2024 schooling session, compared to 8,988 in the 2022-2023 session,” he said.

Introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, the service, which is fully borne by DBKL, aims to help parents in low-income housing areas to send and fetch their school-going children.

Also present at the event was Klang Valley Bus Operators and Drivers Association chairman Ahmad Fauzi Murad.