YOURSAY | ‘Eating in a group in public is a clear breach of MCO.’

VVIPs’ social distancing failure no mere SOP breach, says lawyer

Quigonbond: Simplicity is always the best answer. The issue is whether the ‘big makan’ (feast) gathering is against the current movement control order (MCO) regulations.

What Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is effectively saying is that Deputy Health Minister Noor Azmi Ghazali and Perak exco member Razman Zakaria did not breach the regulations because he (Ismail) has the discretion to identify those who can move around freely (and thus, elected representatives can go and assist the people subject to MCO rules).

But if so, why were they charged, why did they plead guilty, why were they fined, and why did they have to apologise?

Ismail Sabri, just because you managed a backdoor coup and made senior minister doesn’t mean you suddenly develop intelligence.

CH Y: Noor Azmi and Razman as elected representatives can go around to distribute aid, but you do not have a social gathering, have a feast in public, post pictures on social media and then try to justify all that as part of your duties.

Do you understand that, senior minister?

Anonymous_1566891822322.03441566891350406: Any gathering during the MCO is a violation of the law of disease prevention.

Noor Azmi and Razman have committed two violations - gathering in numbers and eating in a group in public.

Anonymous…: Breach in standard operating procedures (SOP) and violating the MCO are not mutually exclusive. From what I see, both were committed in one offence.

Ismail Sabri should stop painting the picture that it is either one or another. Besides, he is in no position to comment that there is no double standard in sentencing. He is just a minister. He is not a judge.

Anonymous_1cfb3ab6: Attorney-General Idrus Harun should be the one explaining all legalities involving the MCO and the SOP to us, not the defence minister cum senior minister at his Covid-19 daily announcement.

In just a short time, Idrus has already proven to be a huge disappointment.

Bibut: Both Noor Azmi and Razman had violated the MCO but it was a "forced" violation. Someone had pointed a gun at them and ordered them to eat in public with 15 others.

The gunmen also forced the duo and 15 others to snap pictures and post them on social media for everyone to see.

So, therefore the violation of MCO is seen as breaking only the SOP. I hope my fellow Malaysians who reading my comment right now are laughing their hearts out.

Cynical: Single mother Lisa Christina was charged under the same regulations as the VVIPs and was given a 30-day jail sentence (the High Court later replaced the jail sentence with a fine of RM1,000).

There was no charge for obstruction of any civil servant from performing their duties in her case (Ismail Sabri had said many had been jailed not for violating MCO alone, but had also committed offences under the Penal Code such as by obstructing civil servants).

So why the different charges?

Slumdog: When it comes to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, which is a clone of Umno, they will always find ridiculous justifications for their members to avoid more serious charges.

Now we have Ismail Sabri proffering the ludicrous escape clause that there is a difference between breaching the SOP and a regulation.

Can the minister please explain to us mere mortals what specific standard operating procedures were breached by the deputy health minister and Perak exco member?

Sphzxcv: Leaders must lead by example and the courts must make an example of them.

If Noor Azmi and Razman can’t lead by example then they must resign. And if they are caught breaching the law again, they must be charged and punished more severely than others as they should know the law better and the consequences of breaking them.

Neutral Point: The rakyat are not stupid. We can analyse and judge ourselves whether the law is applied fairly or equally to all Malaysians, regardless the person is a minister or a driver.

PN is BN 2.0 and when GE15 comes, the rakyat will bury them deep in the ground.

The people want a new Malaysia for all Malaysians and not for just one single race. The wealth must be shared equally among all, regardless if you are a Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan or Orang Asli.

The ruling party should not appoint cabinet members based on race but based on qualification, ability and experience.

Please, no more warm water minister, TikTok minister, black shoe minister, flying car minister and Doraemon minister.

Honma: Ismail Sabri has no credibility as a leader. When he was the minister of domestic trade and industries, he mooted the idea of Low Yat 2 following a mobile phone theft incident which was later spun on social media as a case of 'Chinese cheating Malays'.

The plan invited scorn from netizens and is criticised by other politicians who say it is racist to set up an all-Malay IT retail centre.

The whole project failed and many of the retailers have closed down due to poor business.

Anonymous 2293481434643651: Description of a VVIP? It can mean a Very, Very Idiotic Person.

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