JOHOR BARU, March 5 — The atmosphere at a ceramah, featuring Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, turned tense at PKR’s Larkin Jaya operations centre here to tonight, after Johor Baru Health Department officers nearly slapped a compound on the organisers over a breach in the standard operating procedure (SOP) for campaigning.
In the end, the organisers were only given a stern warning over the SOP breach that concerned Anwar not wearing a face mask while addressing the crowd of more than 50 PKR supporters on a wet evening.
The brief drama unfolded after the 75-year-old Port Dickson MP removed his face mask, claiming that his voice would be clearer while speaking on a microphone.
About 10 minutes after taking the stage, an officer from the Johor Baru Health Department approached Anwar to notify him of the SOP breach involving the removal of his face mask.
Anwar then reminded the officer to maintain his one-metre physical distance and clarified that he understood the SOPs as set by the Election Commission (EC).
“I know that the Health Department officers are only doing their job according to the EC’s SOPs.
“However, I am allowed by the Speaker to remove my face mask while speaking in Parliament as it makes it easier for me to be heard,” said Anwar.
The PKR president was appearing at the ceramah at PKR’s Larkin Jaya operations centre in support of the party’s Larkin candidate, Dr Zamil Najwah Arbain.
Also present was PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasrullah Nasir, who is also the Johor Baru MP.
A tense moment ensued that saw several PKR supporters taunting the Johor Baru Health Department officers.
Anwar later said that after the ceramah, he would be personally texting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to inform him of the difficulties he has faced while campaigning.
“Peraturan sedemikian menyusahkan orang (such rules inconvenience people),” he said, adding that he should know it was safe to speak, with people standing at a distance from him, as his wife (Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) is a doctor.
A check by Malay Mail later revealed that the Johor Baru Health Department officers will issue a stern warning to the organisers as all speakers, organisers and those present need to put on a face mask under the SOP protocols for campaigning in the Johor state election.
In his talk later, Anwar mentioned the importance of adhering to the rule of law and touched on the case of a tycoon’s son who was arrested for drug offences, when Pakatan Harapan (PH) was in power in 2019.
He welcomed a full probe irrespective of the person’s status if there was any wrongdoing in the case.
“The challenge now is for Ismail Sabri to take the appropriate action as the country still has an attorney general.
“We need to uphold the rule of law. Not one set for the rich and another for the poor,” said Anwar without naming the tycoon.
PKR will contest 20 seats state-wide for the upcoming Johor state elections.
For the Larkin state seat, Dr Zamil will be facing a six-cornered fight against Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Mohd Hairi Mad Shah, Malaysian United Democratic Alliance’s (Muda) Rasid Abu Bakar, Parti Pejuang Tanah Air’s (Pejuang) Mohamad Riadz Mohamad Hashim, Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Zulkifli Bujang and Independent candidate Norramadan Buan.
The EC has set March 12 as the polling date for the state election and early voting will be on March 8.
Johor has 56 state constituencies, with more than 2.59 million voters who are eligible to cast their ballot in this state election. The EC is targeting a 70 per cent voter turnout.
