KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali’s refusal to admit wrongdoing for not undergoing the mandatory Covid-19 quarantine has invalidated the apologies he offered over the incident before, said DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.
The Iskandar Puteri MP cited reports of the minister continuing to defend himself over the incident in which he was fined RM1,000.
Lim said the minister appeared to show no remorse while campaigning in the Slim by-election yesterday despite the incident forcing a rare public response from Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“As a result, the prime minister is left with the option of paying lip-service to this principle in the face of mounting cases of double standards in the application of the law.
“If he is faultless, why is Khairuddin donating his salary as a minister from May to August to the Covid-19 fund?” Lim said in a statement today.
The DAP leader insisted that the matter was not yet resolved as questions related to Khairuddin’s visit to Turkey remain unanswered.
Chief among these was whether the minister received the PM’s approval to leave Malaysia for a quasi-official visit at a time when the country’s borders were closed under the movement control orders.
Yesterday, Khairuddin insisted he did nothing wrong by failing to observe the mandatory 14-day quarantine after returning to Malaysia last month, describing the matter as a procedural error.
On August 13, Khairuddin’s predecessor, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, pointed out that the minister was already back in Parliament on July 13 despite only returning to Malaysia six days prior.
Kok also alleged later that Khairuddin was accompanied by his family and unnamed officials during the trip, and asked whether they underwent the quarantine. This still has not been publicly addressed.
