KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang today questioned how Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob could claim ignorance about who his fellow Cabinet colleague had travelled to Turkey with, and called the former’s revelation “shocking”.
The Iskandar Puteri MP asked how Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali managed to escape Cabinet scrutiny, despite the emergence of details that he was accompanied by an entourage during the July trip.
“The minister’s ignorance is shocking news,” Lim said in a statement.
“Didn’t Khairuddin report to the Cabinet... about Khairuddin and his entourage breaching the Covid-19 quarantine SOP for people leaving and returning to the country?” the MP added.
“Even if Khairuddin had not reported to the Cabinet, didn’t he and the other Cabinet ministers ask Khairuddin to give a report?”
Last week, DAP Member of Parliament for Seputeh Teresa Kok revealed to Parliament that Khairuddin had made the trip with a large entourage, believed to include members of his own family.
Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri was then pressed by reporters to confirm or deny the allegation on Monday.
Ismail Sabri said he was not aware if Khairuddin had travelled alone or with others.
Lim said he found the senior minister’s response unbelievable.
“Is Ismail saying that up to now, no Cabinet minister, not even the prime minister, knows whether Khairuddin went to Turkey alone or with other people, and who were these ‘other people’?” the Iskandar Putri MP asked.
Lim also claimed the authorities have been slow to act despite pledging to probe the case last week.
The police have launched an investigation into Khairuddin for failing to self-quarantine. The PAS leader gave his statement to the police in Parliament yesterday.
“Why are the police so tardy and indifferent in this case, as Malaysians were told last week that the police were investigating it?” Lim asked.
“Answers are needed to understand how a Cabinet minister became a fugitive from the law.”
Khairuddin was slapped with a RM1,000 compound last week for failing to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning from Turkey.
The minister on Saturday issued a public apology and said he would donate five months’ worth of salary to a fund to fight Covid-19 following public uproar. - malaymail
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