KUALA LUMPUR – Hulu Langat MP Datuk Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus, who was lambasted for his trip overseas during the devastating flood that wreaked havoc across the country, had ignored his quarantine order following his return home.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the Amanah leader was originally only given a quarantine exemption for his trip to Istanbul, Turkey to attend an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference from December 8 to 12.
His subsequent trips to Pakistan and Iran, however, were not approved for exemption, Khairy said.
Hasanuddin is believed to have only returned to Malaysia on December 19, before he took part in relief efforts in his constituency three days later, according to photos uploaded on his Facebook.
“He (Hasanuddin) applied for a quarantine exemption for the trip between December 8 and 12 with three other elected representatives. That was approved because of our ‘test-and-release protocol’ for official trips.
“But on December 22, following his arrival, the initial exemption was already overridden, because he had been asked to do home quarantine,” he told a press conference today.
“That was the last correspondence we had with him. The Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre emailed, saying we have approved his home quarantine. This is subsequent to the OIC quarantine exemption.
“We are now investigating where he went, if he went to Iran and Pakistan, and why he broke his quarantine upon receiving the home surveillance order on December 20.”
Khairy said by right, Hasanuddin should have observed a seven-day home quarantine period upon returning from abroad, as other travellers do.
“If he broke (his quarantine order), we can only fine him RM1,000,” he said, referring to the current maximum penalty provided under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
Hasanuddin had originally travelled to the OIC event in Istanbul with fellow MPs Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh (Besut) and Ahmad Fadhli Saari (Pasir Mas) under his capacity as a member of the Parliamentary Friendship Group.
He said he was later invited to Pakistan and Iran as he is active in international humanitarian and welfare missions.
Hasanuddin received flak after he uploaded travel photos, including ones of him on Mount Tochal in Iran, with netizens condemning the lawmaker’s apparent disregard of the flood situation in Malaysia. – The Vibes, December 25, 2021
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