Khairuddin S Worst Week Ever

---

It was not a good week for Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali, the minister of plantation industries and commodities
The PAS lawmaker is at the centre of a firestorm surrounding his action in flouting the 14-day mandatory quarantine rule, put in place by the government for those arriving from outside of Malaysia
It started when on Aug 18, 2020, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok revealed in the Dewan Rakyat that Khairuddin had travelled to Turkey on July 3, 2020
"The plantation industries and commodities minister went to Turkey from July 3 to 7, and on (July) 13 he came to Parliament," the DAP lawmaker was reported by Malaysiakini to have said
"We know that everyone who goes overseas and comes back must be quarantined for 14 days, but now a cabinet minister has not followed this rule."Khairuddin did not respond to queries by the media that day despite the immediate furore, and the next day a close "source" was reported to have confirmed that he did travel to Turkey, but said that he was tested negative for Covid-19 at the airport
This response did not help matters, as many pointed out that the fact he tested negative was beside the point. He should have quarantined himself like everyone else
Khairuddin’s subsequent responses only made matters worse. He told the public to "wait for the Health Ministry’s statement" and that he "was allowed entry into the palace", as proof that he did not carry the deadly coronavirus
Kok also added more revelations, that Khairuddin did not travel to Turkey alone but brought his family along. More questions followed, including whether the trip was a personal trip or a ministry one and whether Khairuddin’s family members who went with him on the trip had also breached the law
Teresa KokThen on Aug 22, the Health Ministry issued a statement. It said that Khairuddin had indeed breached the quarantine rule when he returned and did not self-quarantine
According to the statement, the minister was issued a compound notice of RM1,000, which he purportedly paid on Aug 7
Not long after that, Khairuddin himself issued a statement, apologising to Malaysians and announcing that he will return his salaries as a minister from May to August, and contribute the amount to the National Disaster Relief Fund (Covid-19 Fund)
He probably thought this would settle the matter. Malaysians, after all, are a forgiving lot
He was wrong
If many were angry before, they were angrier with the statement by the Health Ministry. Only RM1,000, they asked, and again comparisons were made to others, normal rakyat who were arrested, charged, fined and even jailed for the same offence
Double standards, the rakyat cried out. “Antara dua darjat (Between two classes)”, quoting the title of a popular classic Malay movie to describe the apparent inconsistency in punishments between a minister and normal citizens
Even his apology and contribution to the Covid-19 fund did not mitigate the tide of anger against him. His PAS colleagues, who rather foolishly tried to defend him have been similarly lambasted
Since the controversy is showing no sign of subsiding, the police had to issue a statement to say that they are still investigating the 27 police reports lodged against the minister
The rakyat it seems, will not let this one go so easily. They have the treatment of other VIP offenders before this - the deputy health minister, the Terengganu menteri besar, the daughter of Umno’s president, are just some examples of "antara dua darjat" when it comes to flouting the Covid-19 regulations
The longer it takes for Khairuddin to get his just desserts (if he ever does) in the eyes of the people, the more it will damage the government’s already tattered reputation. Already, people are questioning PAS’ version of hudud, when such double standards exist
All the while, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has not commented on this issue at all, despite the fact that he is the person who advised the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Khairuddin’s appointment. His refusal to hold a press conference or take questions from reporters meant that there was no way for the media to ask these questions
It is unlikely that the prime minister will make any drastic decisions, such as asking Khairuddin to resign. He is the prime minister because of Muafakat Nasional, and he can ill afford to offend them, especially when his party is trying to be a part of the cooperation between PAS and Umno. He is already feeling the pressure from Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s new party taking away a significant number of Bersatu’s grassroots members
But at least the prime minister can find some comfort that his week was better than Khairuddin’s
SYAHREDZAN JOHAN is a civil liberties lawyer and political secretary to Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang. - MkiniThe views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

---