Malaysia

If the PN government does not bother adhering to the SOPs, why should the others follow?

Politicians that flout SOPs are giving others that follow it a bad name, says Balik Pulau MP

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 20 Feb 2021 9:28PM

If the PN government does not bother adhering to the SOPs, why should the others follow?
Balik Pulau MP Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik says politicians are supposed to lead by example, but clearly, they are not. – Twitter pic, February 20,2021

by Rachel Yeoh

GEORGE TOWN  – How many times has the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the movement control order (MCO) been flouted by politicians in Bersatu and Umno?

According to Balik Pulau MP, Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, too many times to count to the point it does not cause any surprises anymore.

“Why can’t they (Umno) have their meeting online? Why do they need to meet face to face? What is so urgent to the point where the SOPs have to be breached?

“It is disappointing, but honestly, it is not something unexpected. Even during Chinese New Year, non-Chinese are also having gatherings, meeting together and eating.

“I guess that is why they recently changed the SOPs to allow more than two people to dine in.”

Bakhtiar added that these politicians are giving other politicians a bad name. They are supposed to lead by example, but clearly, they are not.

“Here I am, obeying the SOPs even though I find some of the restrictions ridiculous. For example, having only two people in the car even though my wife and daughter live in the same house with me. So we have to drive two cars to get somewhere,” he told The Vibes.

Pulau Tikus assemblyman, Lee Chun Kit questions why the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s component parties are not following the SOPs.

If the government intends for the SOPs to be taken seriously, so must the component parties.

“The prime minister should insist that action be taken against Umno, if the evidence is sufficient that the SOPs have been violated by the party.

“Do not bring politics into the pandemic. Malaysians are not blind, they can see what is happening,” he told the Vibes.

Both were commenting on a meeting held by the Umno Supreme Council last night, of which some 50 leaders met in Janda Baik, Pahang to discuss the party’s future alliance with Bersatu.

Talks on Umno severing ties with Bersatu at the beginning of the year had allegedly pushed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to suggest the motion of having a state of emergency to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, preventing an election until the pandemic is over. – The Vibes, February 20, 2021.

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