YOURSAY | Something’s fishy with Khairuddin’s RM1,000 fine

YOURSAY | ‘The double standard in this case stinks to high heaven.’

Minister fined RM1,000 for breaching quarantine, will give up May-Aug salary

Vijay47: I don’t think there is a single Malaysian who would believe this tale.

If the fine was indeed imposed by the Health Ministry and paid by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali as long as a fortnight ago, there is no way in hell that the controversy would have been permitted to fester and simmer all these days.

On the matter of punishment, why was the minister imposed a fine of only RM1,000? That may be the standard amount for one offence. But Khairuddin went out 12 times during his quarantine period, he, therefore, committed 13 offences, including his commanding performance at Parliament.

Not that RM13,000 would have brought about starvation to the family, but why only RM1,000? If I jump 12 traffic lights in one journey from Gasing to Imbi, would I be charged for one or 12 offences?

By the way, how does the story end for his family and the government officers who went with him on the ‘turkey shoot’?

My suspicion is that even this morning, the final details had not been put into place yet, the ink had not dried, and there was also the matter of carrying out the dry runs to see whether the fable would pass public scrutiny.

No, it would not. Keeping quiet needlessly for two weeks goes completely against the grain of what PAS and Umno stand for. Nightingales sing, frogs croak.

Regrettably, the one with most to lose is Health Ministry director-general (DG) Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah who all along has been a beacon of professionalism and a person of high pride for all of us. Rightly or wrongly, he would be seen as being party to the subterfuge.

Proving again slip and cup and lip, and how fleetingly glory remains.

GMan: No jail? Why only RM1,000? Isn’t that the amount for those who don’t wear face masks in public? This is about a minister breaching home quarantine big time, going to various places.

Our Health Ministry/DG, through this episode, has made it very clear to everyone that there are different standards for those breaching the health safety requirements - one standard for VIPs/ministers and another standard (a much harsher one) for the common folks.

Ipoh Pp: Is this the best the Health Ministry can do? My son was quarantined for 14 days on returning from overseas and had to pay for his stay at a hotel which amounted to over RM2,000.

So now the question arises, why should he be quarantined? He could have just paid the RM1,000 fine and gone home.

Opening Batsman: June 4 - a 27-year-old man in Sibu, Sarawak was fined RM5,000 by the Magistrate Court in Sibu for violating a home quarantine order; Aug 13 - a 57-year-old man was sentenced to five months’ jail and fined RM12,000 by the Magistrate Court in Alor Setar for breaking home quarantine; Aug 14 - a 72-year-old woman was fined RM8,000 and jailed one day by the Magistrate Court in Ipoh for flouting the quarantine rule.

Compare the above to these:

April 28 - the deputy health minister was fine RM1,000 by the Magistrate Court in Gerik, Perak for disobeying the MCO (movement control order); May 6 - the daughter of Umno president was fined RM800 by the Magistrate Court in Putrajaya, also for flouting the MCO; Aug 7 - the plantation industries and commodities minister was fined RM1,000 by the Health Ministry for breaching the quarantine rule.

This is lawlessness and gross abuse of power! Shame on all of you in this backdoor government.

Two Come Out: We need answers to these questions:

1. Why did the Health Ministry say it was probing the matter four days ago when the summon was already issued on Aug 7?

2. Was the fine actually imposed on Aug 7 or issued now and backdated?

3. Why was the minister not wearing the pink wristband?

4. Was this really the Health Ministry’s decision?

5. What about Khairuddin’s family who allegedly travelled with him to Turkey?

JW: The double standard, in this case, stinks to high heaven.

Never mind the fact that an argument could easily be made to punish Khairuddin more for knowingly lying to the government that he is a part of.

In the end, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is badly tarnished by the fact that they have allowed their members to go unpunished. Instead, they just ‘buat tak tahu’. But the public is not so dumb.

MS: The regime has bested itself. This must be the greatest demonstration of double standards to date and one which obviously caused many sleepless nights to the eminently flexible, bend-over-backward administrators of SOPs (standard operating procedures) and its enforcers.

And in case anyone has doubts, a shameless lot as well. A little bird tells me that this was an agonising period for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin - one which involved plenty of wrangling, deal-making and threats.

So, no custodial sentence for this man. None, too, for his family who bravely joined him in Istanbul.

Kawak: We thought a minister from an Islamic party like PAS must be honest, sincere and follow the laws of the country as good citizens. But the opposite is true.

We have plenty of 'raja klentongs' in PAS and their mouthpiece Harakah is good at spinning news.

Gerard Lourdesamy: So, ministers are above the law? No wonder, Lord Denning once remarked that the law can be an ass.

In fact, in Islam, all leaders are expected to lead exemplary lives, with piety, integrity and good deeds. This message seems to have been lost on the majority of this Malay/Islamic government.

Power, as they say, corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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