Istana Negara officers, staff undergo Covid-19 tests

PETALING JAYA: All Istana Negara officers and staff members were tested for Covid-19 on Monday (March 2).

This comes after several MPs had come in close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 patient.

Istana Negara ceremonial officer Sophian Ab Rahman posted this on Twitter on Monday (March 2).

"Following news that there is a possibility that there were MPs who had been in close contact with a Covid-19 patient, all officers and staff members of Istana Negara were made to undergo compulsory tests.

"May Allah protect our King and all of us from this disease outbreak," he wrote.

He also uploaded a photo of himself undergoing Covid-19 test at an undisclosed health facility.

Berikutan berita yg memaklumkan berkemungkinan adanya di kalangan ahli parlimen yg mempunyai close contact dgn pesakit Covid-19 , semua pegawai dan staf Istana diwajibkan membuat saringan. Semoga Allah peliharakanlah Raja kita dan diri kita semua daripada wabak penyakit ini. Amin pic.twitter.com/GoNanHypjc

— Sophian Ab Rahman (@sophianrahman77) March 2, 2020

MPs had been going in and out of Istana Negara from Feb 23 until Sunday (March 1) during the political upheaval that unseated the Pakatan Harapan government.

A new alliance, Perikatan Nasional, came to power under the leadership of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was sworn in as the eighth Prime Minister on Sunday.

Reports later surfaced that former entrepreneur development minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof, his deputy Datuk Dr Hatta Ramli and a few senior ministry officers had been in close contact with a Khazanah Nasional Bhd employee who had tested positive for Covid-19.

According to reports, the close contact allegedly took place on Feb 27 during an appreciation event.

The former minister and former deputy minister were also seen mingling with other MPs during a series of political meetings that took place over the past week following the collapse of Pakatan. - Star