Quarantine order: Netizens vs ministers

What’s going on?

• Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali was fined RM1,000 for failing to observe the mandatory 14-day home quarantine after returning from a trip to Turkey on July 7.
• His first nasopharyngeal swab sample was taken on the same day and was found to be negative. The subsequent tests also showed negative results.
• The compound was issued by the Health Ministry on Aug 7. The minister has paid the amount.

Why it matters?

Khairuddin's quarantine violation took social media by storm and caused an uproar among netizens.

Most were angered by the juxtaposition of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) enforcement under the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) for certain sectors of the society.

Recently, an elderly woman spotted with her pink wristband eating at a restaurant in Perak was fined RM8,000 and jailed for one day for failing to comply with home quarantine orders.

A restaurant owner responsible for the creation of the “Sivangangga Cluster” disobeyed quarantine order upon his return from Sivagangga, a town in Tamil Nadu, and was fined RM12,000 and jailed for 5 months.

In a Facebook statement, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok claimed that the within three days of his return from Turkey, Khairuddin who is also the Kuala Nerus Member of Parliament had attended 12 separate official programmes.

Had he been infected by COVID-19, the health of thousands of Malaysians could have been affected, creating the "Khairuddin Takiri Cluster".

What about the law?

Malaysians returning from abroad and other nationals permitted to enter the country must undergo a 14-day compulsory quarantine even if their first COVID-19 test upon arrival came up negative.

Bukit Aman Police had received 27 reports pertaining to the issue and Bukit Aman has opened an investigation paper on the minister.

Khairuddin committed an offence under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020, the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).

To put things into perspective

While Mohd Khairuddin had issued an apology and will be contributing his four months’ salary to the government’s COVID-19 relief fund, some are asking for his resignation as MP.

New Zealand's health minister David Clark, Ireland’s agriculture minister, Dara Calleary and Ghana's deputy trade minister Hon. Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah had all resigned for breaching COVID-19 rules enforced by their respective countries.

Many politicians have also been pictured at crowded public events with no face mask, flouting the mandatory face mask rule enforced beginning August 1, which made some questioned whether certain groups of people are above the law in the country.