Najib defends religious affairs minister, criticises Putrajaya, PH

 

Najib Razak wishes Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri a speedy recovery.

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak has come to the defence of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, who has tested positive for Covid-19.

Zulkifli has come under criticism after reports emerged that he attended a number of functions following his return from Sabah, which has seen a spike in infections.

But Najib said Zulkifli, who had in the past criticised him, returned from Sabah on Sept 24, before the government made it mandatory for those returning from the state to be tested for Covid-19 and be quarantined.

He said that during campaigning for the Sabah election, Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders and NGOs like Aliran and Bersih 2.0 opposed the health ministry’s proposal for mandatory quarantine, claiming it would impede voters residing outside the state from going back to vote.

“I believe the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government caved in to this demand as they did not want PH to turn this into an election issue,” he said.

Had the government implemented mandatory quarantine sooner, Najib said, more Covid-19 cases in Peninsular Malaysia which originated from Sabah could have been avoided.

He said the PN government should have allowed Sabahans to cast postal votes just as the Barisan Nasional administration did for overseas Malaysians in the 14th general election.

“If we can do it for overseas voters, why can’t we do it for voters outside of their states?” he asked.

Najib also said the government should have instructed for a mandatory 14-day quarantine instead of three days as the incubation for Covid-19 is two weeks.

Now, he said, it was too late, but both PH and PN should avoid repeating mistakes of the past.

“And I pray that our religious affairs minister makes a full recovery as soon as possible,” he added.- FMT