KUALA LUMPUR – Just two days after Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s trip to Indonesia, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba announced a new set of rules allowing cabinet members to undergo a more relaxed quarantine after returning from abroad.
In a federal government gazette released today by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Exemption) Order 2021 exempts ministers from the surveillance or observation orders.
However, instead of the 10-day quarantine period, it will be reduced to three days for ministers until they are not a danger to anyone else.
This rule will come into effect from tomorrow to August 1, so it is unsure if Muhyiddin will be exempted.
If he is, Muhyiddin should be released from quarantine and observation tomorrow.
Similarly, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who is on an official trip to the United Arab Emirates, will only be quarantined for three days if he returns the day after tomorrow.
This move by the Perikatan Nasional administration is peculiar, given that netizens have voiced out against government officials receiving lenient penalties for flouting standard operating procedures.
In August last year, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali was fined RM1,000 after failing to observe quarantine when he returned to Malaysia from Turkey. – The Vibes, February 8, 2021
