Quarantine breach concerns Khairuddin's honour, not salary, says ex-health minister
Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali's honour is the main issue with regard to his violation of the Covid-19 home quarantine order, according to former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
He pointed out that ministers in other countries have resigned over similar incidents...
Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali's honour is the main issue with regard to his violation of the Covid-19 home quarantine order, according to former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
He pointed out that ministers in other countries have resigned over similar incidents.
“If in New Zealand, the minister would have resigned. The matter has caught the public’s attention, not just Pakatan Harapan's.
“The people feel there is bias as this (Malaysian) minister was only (fined) RM1,000.
“I record (that he) does not try to provoke (sympathy) by returning four-months worth of salary, that is not the issue.
“The issue is the honour of a minister who deliberately violated the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 SOP (standard operating procedure),” he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.
Dzulkefly also stressed on the importance of leaders setting an example.
“If leaders do not abide (by the SOP), do not hope that the people would as they see the leader clearly escaping (the law),” he said.
The Amanah lawmaker was referring to the controversy surrounding Khairuddin, who is the plantation industries and commodities minister.
It was revealed that Khairuddin had disregarded the government's mandatory two-week home quarantine order upon his return from Turkey last month.
The PAS Kuala Nerus MP returned to Malaysia on July 7 but was spotted at several events, including the Parliament session on July 13.
The government and Khairuddin have not offered any clarification as to the purpose of the trip abroad but later claimed he was fined RM1,000 - the maximum fine provided for under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 - on Aug 7.
The RM1,000 fine raised the question of double standard after several members of the public were handed more severe punishment for violating the home quarantine order.
This included a restaurant owner linked to the Sivagangga Covid-19 cluster, who was issued a compound of RM1,000 and later fined a further RM12,000 and jailed five months.
An elderly woman was jailed one day and fined RM8,000 after pleading guilty to breaching her home quarantine by going out to eat.
However, Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had explained that police are still investigating Khairuddin.
Khairuddin has since apologised and pledged to donate his May-August salary to the Covid-19 fund.
Dzulkefly also criticised government MPs who came to Khairuddin’s defence in the Dewan Rakyat today when several opposition lawmakers repeatedly raised the matter.
Among those who defended the PAS lawmaker were Umno’s Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling), who claimed the minister should be “praised” as he went to Turkey to “save the country”.
This was as Abdul Azeez alleged Khairuddin had brought in RM82 billion worth of investments.
However, it is unclear where Azeez obtained this figure.
New Zealand's health minister David Clark stepped down in July after breaching the country's lockdown rules by taking his family to the beach.
More recently, Ireland's Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary, as well as Irish upper house deputy chairperson Jerry Buttimer, resigned following a parliamentary golf club dinner which violated social distancing rules.
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