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PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Bar Association suggested tonight that a minister who violated the quarantine order be charged under the Penal Code for negligence after authorities said they would take no further action.
Yesterday, the police said that no further action will be taken against the Minister of Plantations Industries and Commodities, Khairuddin Aman Razali, for his failure to comply with the quarantine order after returning from abroad in July.
The PAS MP was under investigation for violating the mandatory quarantine order upon returning from a work trip to Turkey.
Bukit Aman CID chief Huzir Mohamed said the decision was made because the minister had not received the form to self-quarantine upon returning to the country.
This was later confirmed by the Attorney General’s Office, who said it was the discretion of the Health Ministry official to issue a home surveillance order.
However, the president of the Malaysian Bar Association, Salim Bashir, said that action could be taken against Khairuddin under section 269 of the Penal Code.
The section stipulates that “whoever commits an unlawful or negligent act, and who knows or has reason to believe that he can spread the infection of any life-threatening disease,” commits a crime.
“Perhaps the Attorney General could exercise his constitutional prerogative to reconsider his previous decision based on the aforementioned crime foreseen in the Penal Code,” he said in a statement.
If convicted, the individual could be jailed for up to six months or fined, or both.
Salim also asked the Ministry of Health to explain why the corresponding form was not provided to Khairuddin and why he was allowed to move freely.
“The public has the right to know the reasons for its exemption from a quarantine order.”
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