BAD enough that smoking is prohibited in public places and especially eateries, the latest antic of former senior political secretary to the prime minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin puffing away nonchalantly a presumably expensive cigar has sparked an uproar on cyberspace
Now that his cigar puffing has gone viral, the former PKR vice-president who was forced to resign amid allegations of corrupt practices has not only damaged his reputation further but inadvertently hurt the image of Pakatan Harapan (PH) which is facing an uphill task to win this weekend’s (July) Johor state election.
The former Hang Tuah Jaya MP was apparently caught in the act at a warung (roadside stall) in an eight-second video uploaded on X by civil and criminal lawyer Faizal Rahman with a teaser “is the swirling smoke emitted by the orange VESPA (in the backdrop) or from the factory?”
Cantik plak VESPA oren yang lalu belakang tu. Berapa harganya??? Asap berkepul-kepil tu asap vespa ke asap kilang???
Lain macam plakkkk nengoknya!😏 pic.twitter.com/lQyTk7oDko
— Faizal Rahman (@FaizalR98528) July 4, 2026
The post by the ex-PKR grassroot member who has since abandoned ship to join the Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli-led Parti Bersama Malaysia caught many eyeballs by virtue of the 127.4K views it has garnered at the time of writing.
It prompted a health-conscious commenter tagging Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and the Health Ministry (MH) to take action against Shamsul who narrowly lost to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (now Deputy PM) in the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat contest during the 2022 national polls.
Others sarcastically wondered if “the smoke is that from burning the rakyat’s money …😂😂🤣🤣” and that “only the wealthy smoke cigars”.
‘Pay me back my RM600K’
One commenter recounted how Shamsul had “prior to coming to power” lambasted now incarcerated former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak for puffing away cigars.
“Now that he’s in power and has money on his side, he has suddenly become a cigar lover himself,” remarked the netizen.
Interestingly, Facebooker Mohd Faisal reckoned that Shamsul could have purposely recorded the video to seek public attention for two reasons.
“Maybe he wants to show friends who condemned him after losing his position that his life is still stable for him even though he’s no longer the PM’s Setpol (Malay abbreviation for political secretary),” opined the digital creator.
“Or maybe he also wants to sabotage his own party.”
Given that politicians tend to go at great lengths to look after their ethics in pubic and especially so at election venues, Mohd Faisal jibed that “it would be fun if BN (Barisan Nasional) capitalises on the story”.
True enough, Datuk Albert Tei Jiann Cheing – the businessman at the centre of the high-profile Sabah mining license corruption case – has come hounding Shamsul for the RM600K which the latter has allegedly owed him.
“He used to be the second most powerful person in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) … See what he’s doing … he’s in the midst of enjoying himself smoking cigar at a warung … woi, are you asleep or blind, MOH?” jibed the now staunch Madani critic via a FB Reel by Reformati Studio “Albert Tei”.
“This is the person who cheated ME RM600K previously. He can afford to buy cigar but has no money to re-pay me.” – July 6, 2027
