Outrage online over minister’s apparent exemption from Covid-19 quarantine
Nezar Mohamed Sabur Batca, the Nasi Kandar restaurant owner responsible for the Sivagangga cluster, also tested negative on arrival at KLIA. (Read more here)
(MMO) – An attempt to explain Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali’s apparent failure to observe the mandatory 14-day quarantine for Covid-19 prevention has triggered indignation among Malaysians online.
A source close to the plantation industries and commodities minister sought to downplay the incident by saying the PAS leader tested negative on arrival, but Malaysians quickly noted that the test was part of the standard operating procedures, after which the quarantine was still compulsory.
Some asked if ministers were above the law, pointing out that ordinary Malaysians who did not observe their quarantine have been fined and even imprisoned.
Yet others pressed Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to explain why the minister did not need to undergo the quarantine.
Still more seized on the source’s claim that Turkey was a “green zone” country, arguing that there was no such official classification and that Covid-19 was and still is rampant there.
At the start of Khairuddin’s visit on July 3, Turkey already had over 203,000 cases. This rose to nearly 208,000 on July 7 when he departed for Malaysia.
