It was brought to light yesterday that a minister went on an official visit to Turkey, came back and then attended Parliament without undergoing the 14-day quarantine period required in Covid-19 SOPs.
At a time when Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is being shown live daily, saying that no one is above the law, this certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
How is it that the official who visited Turkey is not wearing a mandatory quarantine band after returning from overseas and being told to stay in a quarantine centre?
Just because ministers hold high posts and perform official visits does not mean they are above the law. I thought the lesson was clear when the deputy health minister had to pay a fine for violating the movement control order (MCO) by attending a group lunch, or even when our foreign minister decided to vape in Parliament because he didn’t want to take a smoke break. Yes, vaping is safe inside one’s house, but it is still barred in Parliament.
As I was listening to yesterday’s Parliament debate, some MPs butted in saying the minister was not in the wrong because it was an “official visit”. Are you kidding me?
No, an “official visit” is not a reason for SOP exemption.
Some defended the minister by saying he did not test positive. Yet again, this is another breach of the health ministry’s SOPs because you get tested and then quarantined for 14 days before being tested again and released. How did the minister bypass this?
The minister being let-off here screams double standards and hypocrisy, especially when you have people suffering out there in quarantine. And some even breach it just to apply for the Bantuan Sara Hidup aid.
The minister’s action might cause those that have been quarantined to reconsider their need to remain indoors and avoid interacting with the public. And just one positive case – 80% are said to be asymptomatic – can spread and become another cluster.
So imagine what this minister’s supporters will do if they follow his example.
The current government came in during a time of crisis, and the way the prime minister handled this crisis is what has been keeping him popular among the public – or at least popular enough to maintain power in his Muafakat Nasional alliance.
It survived one deputy minister going on a jaunt for lunch during the MCO, a minister saying that women should keep their husbands happy by sounding like Doraemon and another minister boasting of talking to “500 countries”.
Does this government really want to deal with yet another fallout due to a minister wanting to attend Parliament without following Covid-19 SOPs?
Does this government truly want to play chicken with a pandemic-triggering virus for the sake of maintaining power alliances?
If Parliament can take a 10-minute break before voting on a supplementary bill, it had better take a break now to sanitise the building. It should also quarantine the staff members of the minister who were involved in the trip to Turkey.
On top of that, all those seated nearby or who had close contact with the minister need to be tested and quarantined for public safety.
The fact that ministers are flouting the order set by the director-general of health goes to show that some are already turning a blind eye towards the pandemic, and spitting in the face of Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah’s efforts to get this pandemic under control.
And let’s face it: 60% of the current government’s popularity is due to him.
Hafidz Baharom is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
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