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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian lawmakers across the political territory have spoken out against the decision to allow cabinet ministers returning from official visits abroad to undergo a three-day observation period instead of the standard ten days .
They were referring to a federal bulletin signed by the Minister of Health, Adham Baba, which said that cabinet ministers returning from such visits “must be observed for three days or under surveillance until they can be discharged without representing a danger to the public. “
The exemption runs from February 9 to August 1, while Malaysia’s state of emergency lasts.
It exempts ministers from the protocol that all Malaysians returning from abroad must undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine upon arrival.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday (February 9), former Prime Minister and United Malaysia National Organization (UMNO) MP Najib Razak highlighted that a three-day quarantine for ministers returning from abroad is “dangerous. “because the average incubation period for COVID-19. it is five to six days.
FILE PHOTO: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 3, 2019. REUTERS / Lim Huey Teng
“There is a danger that the infected will be released too soon and infect many more people after mistakenly thinking they are COVID-free,” Najib said.
He cited how a brief quarantine for politicians returning from Sabah’s state elections in 2020 did not stop the spread of COVID-19 from the state of Borneo to the peninsula.
The Pekan MP also warned that it would be “even more dangerous” if the infection is from abroad due to the higher probability of contracting the UK or South African variants of COVID-19, which are more infectious.
“At a time when the number of active cases has reached 51,000 … our healthcare system is unlikely to survive if the UK contagious mutation with a 70 percent rate spreads to our country,” Najib said. .
READ: Malaysia eases COVID-19 restrictions for Chinese New Year reunion dinner, days after announcing new restrictions
Criticizing the exemption, Mr. Lim Guan Eng, secretary general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), said that by allowing ministers “special privileges not granted to the general public”, the Perikatan Nasional government has “shown that it does not he is interested”. in compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) to combat COVID-19.
FILE PHOTO: Malaysia’s then-Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng speaks during an interview with Reuters in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on July 22, 2019. REUTERS / Lim Huey Teng
“This double standard and an indifferent attitude may have partly contributed to the recent rise in COVID-19 infections to 245,552 cases as of February 8, 2021, of which 51,977 are active and 896 deaths, making Malaysia the top (most affected country) in ASEAN on a per capita basis, “Lim said in a statement.
He also noted how politicians in government had previously been caught by not adhering to SOPs, citing how ministers have been seen without masks at public events.
Lim also noted how the Minister of Plantations and Commodity Industries, Khairuddin Aman Razali, was fined “only RM 1,000” after failing to comply with standard quarantine operating procedures when he returned to Malaysia after a trip to Turkey in August. 2020.
“In contrast, a 72-year-old Malaysian lady was charged in court, fined RM8,000 and one day in jail for a similar offense,” said Lim, who is also a deputy from Bagan.
THE EXEMPTION SYMBOLIZES THE ABUSE OF POWER: DR DZULKEFLY
Opposition MP Dzulkefly Ahmad, a former health minister, said the official order to shorten the quarantine period from 10 days to three meant that cabinet ministers were exposing others to the risk of infection.
“Unless the ministers are all vaccinated (of which none are), they actually risk the lives of others with the seven days of freedom,” the Kuala Selangor MP was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad is the Strategic Director of Parti Amanah Negara. (File photo: Bernama)
“Especially since most of them are part of the high risk group (over 60 years) and some have medical conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. They are also putting their own health in danger,” added Dr. Dzulkefly, strategy director from Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) and toxicologist.
He added that the exemption symbolizes the “abuse of power” that the opposition feared with the proclamation of the state of emergency.
READ: Active COVID-19 cases in Malaysia surpass the 50,000 mark
In his statement, Dr. Dzulkefly also urged the Ministry of Health to outline the criteria for exemptions.
As of Monday, Malaysia has reported a total of 245,552 COVID-19 cases, of which 51,977 are active cases.
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (left) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (right) at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on February 5, 2021 (Photo: Presidential Secretariat Press Office / Lukas).
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has just returned from his first official trip abroad to Indonesia last Friday, while Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is on a working visit to Abu Dhabi.
DAP stalwart Mr. Lim Kit Siang asked Mr. Muhyiddin to retract the waiver order to keep his promise that there will be no “double standards” in complying with the COVID-19 quarantine SOPs.
Iskandar Puteri’s MP cited Muhyiddin’s televised speech in October last year when the prime minister emphasized that he, as prime minister, was not exempt from quarantine protocols.
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