Afif slams news portal for misleading report on his barber tweets
PKR Seberang Jaya assemblyperson Dr Afif Bahardin has strongly denied allegations, from a news portal, which claimed that he has attacked the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Afif has the deemed the report by Malaysian Dateline as "malicious", and said he only expressed his opinion about government policy on the Covid-19 pandemic in his twitter account.
PKR Seberang Jaya assemblyperson Dr Afif Bahardin has strongly denied allegations, from a news portal, which claimed that he has attacked the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Afif has the deemed the report by Malaysian Dateline as "malicious", and said he only expressed his opinion about government policy on the Covid-19 pandemic in his twitter account.
"This news report by Malaysia Dateline is completely untrue and has a slanderous element of blatantly trying to bring down my image as an elected representative," Afif said in a statement.
"From the beginning and as a member of the MOH until 2013, I fully understand the importance of MOH services and culture," added Afif, who was former Penang executive councillor on health.
Afif was referring to a report on Malaysian Dateline yesterday, headlined “After getting hit by scissors, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) officer attacked MOH”.
Afif had queried MOH's plan in Putrajaya for the rakyat to adapt to ‘the new normal' after the movement control order had been lifted.
He said the MCO will not eliminate the virus, asking "What is Malaysia’s endgame plan towards Covid-19?
Earlier, MOH director-general Dr Norhisham Abdullah had disputed Miti's decision to allow barbers to operate their business during the MCO, which has been extended to April 28.
Afif, who is reportedly a special officer at Miti, defended the latter's decision by saying cutting hair can reduce high blood pressure.
After Putrajaya rescinded its decision to allow barbers to operate, Afif issued a statement saying, the move was the "unkindest cut of all" as their livelihood would be badly affected.
Meanwhile, Afif said as a representative of the people he really appreciated and commend all the frontline efforts at MOH in facing the challenge of Covid-19.
He also demanded an apology from Malaysia Dateline to immediately rectify their report, which he claimed has tarnished his image.
"If Malaysia Dateline fails to do so, I will consider legal action to clear my name," said the former PKR deputy youth chief, describing the report as misleading.
Keep up with the latest information on the outbreak in the country with Malaysiakini's free Covid-19 tracker.
Malaysiakini is providing free access to the most important updates on the coronavirus pandemic. You can find them here.
Help keep independent media alive - subscribe to Malaysiakini.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.