MELAKA, Nov 14 — The Jasin Health Department today issued a RM20,000 fine to an organiser of a Barisan Nasional (BN) event here that was attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for violating Covid-19 regulations.
The summons was issued at 12.30pm to the organisers of a “meet-and-greet” event at the Medan Selera Selandar food court near Asahan that was also attended by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and BN’s Asahan candidate Fairul Nizam Roslan.
The event drew over 60 BN supporters.
“The fine was issued to the event organiser for failing to adhere to Covid-19 social distancing rules. That is all I can say,” a Jasin Health official told reporters when met.
This is the first visit to the historical state by Ismail since the election campaign kicked-off on November 8.
Earlier, BN party officials had also reminded those present to remove all party insignia and badges at the event venue. They were also told to adhere to social distancing rules.
Last week, the Election Commission released (EC) its list of dos-and-don’ts for political campaigning in the Melaka state poll.
The rules have been tightened further, compared to past elections, to prevent a recurrence of the surge in Covid-19 cases that followed the Sabah poll last September.
Among the prohibited activities now are walkabouts and ceramah — which have been popular ways for candidates, especially those in the Opposition, to engage with voters on the campaign trail.
Prior to the EC rules, the Health Ministry had announced a ban on all political gatherings and social events linked to the election from October 25 till November 27.
Melaka has 28 state constituencies and 495,196 registered voters. Of these, 240,530 or 48.57 per cent of the voters are men, and the remaining 254,666 voters or 51.43 per cent are women.
Polling day for Melaka is set for November 20.
