YOURSAY | Khairuddin misses the point about breaking the law

YOURSAY | ‘The call for him to resign is not because he erred in his ministerial duties.’

I did not err in ministerial duties - Khairuddin dismisses resignation calls

IndigoKite6964: Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali said that he need not resign because he did not err in his ministerial duties. But he missed the point.

It is about his moral, his integrity and his judgement. These are by far the most important qualities of any person holding a ministerial position.

The call for him to resign is not because he erred in his ministerial duties. The call was because he lacked integrity, judgement and morality.

Being a minister, he should be the first and foremost person to adhere to the laws which he swore to uphold. That has been broken. Why then should he not resign? In fact, a heavier penalty should await him should he be found guilty of breaking the law.

It would be a matter of time that a person of such poor integrity, moral and judgement will err in his ministerial duties. It is not an "if" he will err. It is "when" he will err.

To add into the mix of this witches’ brew is his arrogance. What great things can we expect from this man? We do not need this kind of ministers who don't understand integrity.

If all that I have written above is too abstract, then a simple way to put it this - if you break the law, and it does not matter who or what you are, you pay the price for it.

If you are a leader (a minister is a leader), then you can no longer lead because you are liable to do more harm than good for the country.

If Khairuddin does not resign, he will have to be removed because we do not want a man who broke the law to be our leader. It is equivalent to allowing a wolf to look after your sheep.

Quo Vadis: Do not ministerial duties require the observation of rules and restrictions enforced on citizens by the government trying to cope with Covid-19 and keep people safe?

Does a minister not realise that the Covid-19 SOP (standard operating procedure) is designed not just to protect himself but others who he might come in touch with in the course of his jaunts and peregrinations?

Does being a minister absolve the minister's family and retinue from observing Covid-19 SOP when ordinary citizens are fined for lack of observation of the rules?

Does being a minister put one and one's family and retinue above the law despite the position taken by the prime minister and other enforcement agencies? Did not the Agong and the PM take on self-quarantine in accordance with requirements of Covid-19 SOP?

The temerity of still going to town to justify the failure to observe Covid-19 SOP defies all logic.

Vijay47: As a preceding sideshow to the movement control order (MCO) extension announced a while ago, Khairuddin perhaps reflects a possible disconnect between intelligence and the virus, not that he is taking any steps to conceal it.

One would expect that even if arrogance and unrepentance is your guiding inspiration, you would at least try to clothe your stand with justifiable mature reasoning.

This may not be the occasion or forum to discuss the metaphysical divergence between doing wrong and being in error. To our plantation minister’s fragile thinking, one does not apply to him and following what he calls an apology, the other is no longer relevant.

What is bewildering to the public is his own puzzlement over calls for him to resign since he kindly explains that any alleged failure to adhere to Covid-19 SOP is not related to his ministerial position. So why resign?

Thus, according to this Einstein from Terengganu, even if he were guilty of a Covid offence, the need for him to vacate his plantation job would not arise since function and offence are not of the same pod.

The nation stands relieved that Khairuddin is not considering a career in bank robbery or drug-dealing which would also not require him to resign.

But just to humour him, let us look at reality. If indeed his failure does not affect his post, why has he sacrificed his salary since that accrues from his employment? Is this an admission that he had failed in his official responsibilities?

We, of course, wonder what the prime minister is doing about his erring colleague. Ask him and we would hear the song we all have heard before - the matter is in the hands of the police and I leave to them to decide on an appropriate course of action.

And the police response? Following the precedent of the university lecturer who molested a student and was let off the police hook since he had reportedly been demoted, the police feel that no further action is necessary against Khairuddin since he has already suffered enough public odium and contempt.

Only in Malaysia, folks, only in Malaysia.

Harimau_Arif: What Khairuddin basically said is that breaking the quarantine rule is a minor mistake. The fact that he doesn’t understand the severity of breaking the quarantine rule is just mind-boggling.

If Khairuddin was infected, his case would have been much worse as he was attending many public events, including Parliament. I haven’t even included his entourage whom I bet didn’t observe the quarantine as well.

If a minister is not able to grasp the simple concept of how important it is to follow the law, how can he become a role model?

Oxymoronictendencies: Wow! Khairuddin didn’t do wrong! So, it’s not wrong to break the law?

He’s a minister, and as such he should know the law and know he should abide to it. It’s a law his government passed. It seems that perhaps he believes he’s above the law, and laws don’t apply to “important” people like him.

But, Khairuddin, they do apply equally to you as to everyone else. So, whether you did something wrong or it was an error which you now regret, you broke the law.

Kawak: Khairuddin, it is not a question of your failings in performing your official job. It is the issue of showing exemplary action of a good citizen observing laws for the good of the society.

You have failed and committed a serious offence which could have trigger a huge unimaginable Covid-19 cluster. It is a shameful act which ministers in other countries have resigned.

Malaysia Is Surrealist Art That Can Be Bought: Poor Khairuddin. On top of having done no wrong, he has been forced to part with RM1,000, and was perhaps subsequently confused into giving up for charity four whopping months' salary.

It is no wonder he is adamant against giving anything else up, least of all his right to be in Parliament.

The man suffered a glitch, people. It was a system glitch and nothing more. If we wish to throw shade on something, let it be on the system and not the person. After all, I am moved by his conviction that he has indeed done nothing wrong.

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