Kuala Lumpur: Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla has been granted a temporary leave from the Kuala Lumpur High Court as part of his ongoing legal challenge to the federal government's smoking ban in private workplaces, which came into effect on January 1.
According to Haniff, Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh instructed that his judicial review plea be heard inter partes, with a case management session scheduled for February 6.
During the review process, Haniff successfully obtained an interim stay of the smoking ban's enforcement at his Kota Damansara law office.
“The court has granted an ad interim order to suspend the enforcement of the ban at Haniff Khatri’s office until the inter partes stay application is heard on February 27,” Haniff said in a statement released following the hearing.
The case, heard earlier this morning, saw Mohammad Sallehuddin Md Ali, representing the Attorney General’s Chambers, appearing on behalf of the federal government.
Earlier this month, Haniff filed a judicial review in which he challenged the constitutionality of the smoking ban in private workplaces.
The ban, which was gazetted on September 30, 2024, prohibits smoking in these spaces, but Haniff argues that it is unconstitutional, asserting that smoking is not a criminal offence.
In addition to the judicial review, Haniff has also sought a writ of mandamus to compel the government to grant his law firm an exemption from the smoking restrictions in his Kota Damansara office.
