ALOR STAR – Any leader who does not set a good example during the Covid-19 lockdown, including by violating the standard operating procedures, should be censured by Putrajaya, said the Kedah DAP chairman.
Tan Kok Yew was commenting on allegations that Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor flouted lockdown rules by test-driving a car at a vehicle sale and exhibition centre at Autocity Juru in Bukit Mertajam yesterday.
Firstly, Tan told The Vibes, Sanusi should not be undertaking interstate or inter-district travel, which is barred under the SOPs.
“Secondly, why was he in the area and test-driving a Ford Ranger while on the way to the Klang Valley?
“Shouldn’t we be confined to our homes, and shouldn’t we be practising physical distancing and good hygiene habits?”
He said the menteri besar could have easily held a meeting online.
Sanusi’s priorities are misplaced, as he should be focusing more on Kedah’s vaccination drive and aiding residents, said Tan.
The northern state continues to record low vaccination registrations.
“Our leader should be in Kedah mobilising the machinery to convince as many people as possible, especially villagers, to register for the vaccine,” said Tan.
There is also a need to ensure that those under quarantine are given proper aid, such as food and medicines, he added.
“At such a crucial time, Sanusi is instead travelling out of state. It is not a good example.”
The PAS leader has left it to police to investigate the matter.
Bukit Mertajam district police chief Shafee Abd Samad said a probe will be conducted after officers were forwarded a clip of Sanusi’s purported SOP breach.
Sanusi’s political secretary, Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamuddin, in a Facebook post said his boss was not at the dealership specifically for a test drive, but was travelling to Kuala Lumpur on an urgent matter, and accompanied by a driver and a police officer.
“From Alor Star, they stopped at Juru to buy some food as the rest stops along the highway were closed.
“Coincidentally, the eatery was near a showroom. The showroom was closed. A salesman was positioning a Ford Ranger outside the showroom, and Sanusi just looked. Not that he was interested in buying, but just having a look.”
Afnan Hamimi said after buying food, Sanusi was back on the road to the federal capital. – The Vibes, June 6, 2021
