Amanah's Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin (above) has blasted leaders from his former party, PAS, saying they have created a new definition of morality that allows them to ignore injustice to ordinary citizens.
"In an apparently official stand by PAS on the issue of a minister from its own party (Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali) violating a mandatory order of 14-days quarantine upon his arrival from Turkey, the PAS president categorically said that the party would only take disciplinary action against its own member if the latter is found to have breached a morality code.
"Alas, the party seems to have its own 'sacred' version of morality," said Hanipa in a statement, adding that PAS was in the grip of a "holier than thou mentality" under the leadership of president Abdul Hadi Awang.
"The breach of quarantine seems to have escaped from PAS' idea of the violation of morality.
"To be fair to PAS, it possessed no sense of trepidation at all in supporting the immoral or unethical backdoor government, which was established without the people's mandate, thus constituting an act of betrayal.
"If such an act of betrayal does not trigger PAS' infrared sensors of morality, one would be utterly foolish to expect any breach of the mandatory quarantine order to be declared as immoral by PAS," said Hanipa in a withering attack on the party he left in 2015, when its progressive wing moved to form Amanah after being frozen out in party elections.
"Indeed it really puzzles me as to how PAS views the utter discriminations, in terms of punishment inflicted upon the ordinary citizens compared to the people in the upper echelon of the current government.
"Poor citizens were brought to courts of law, duly charged, tried, convicted and punished but the minister from PAS was not treated in the same manner.
"The answer is a resounding 'no'! He was only issued a compounded fine of RM1,000. Such a meager fine is only peanuts," Hanipa said.
Khairuddin (above) had returned from a trip to Turkey on July 7 and was seen in the Dewan Rakyat just six days later, on July 13.
He was also seen in many other places during the period he was supposed to be under mandatory home quarantine.
He eventually offered to sacrifice four months of his salary and the police have taken his statement, but he has yet to be charged in court.
While he has apologised, Khairuddin has brushed aside resignation calls and maintained he had merely broken standard operating procedures (SOPs) but did not err in his job.
On Aug 31, PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin dubbed Khairuddin a "hero" and blamed the scandal of "negligence" on the Health Ministry as well as Wisma Putra.
Hanipa was not keen to let this slide either.
"Apart from president Hadi of PAS, other leaders also lent their undivided support to the same minister.
"The PAS spiritual leader went the extra mile by employing Quranic text in passionately defending the PAS minister and contended that the clear violation of the quarantine order was merely a minor breach of the SOP.
"He, in fact, blamed the Health Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry for the PAS minister's mischief," Hanipa said.
Hanipa also slammed PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, who he accused of trying to deviate the issue. - Mkini
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