Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak said he is thankful that a Covid-19 cluster did not emerge from among his supporters who had gathered at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex on July 28.
Thousands of supporters had converged there (above), many without masks and ignoring social distancing, as Najib was sentenced for abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering over RM42 million in funds belonging to state-owned SRC International Sdn Bhd.
"Today is exactly 15 days since the High Court's judgment on my SRC case.
"This means there is no 'Najib cluster' because the 14-day incubation period for Covid-19 has passed. Alhamdulillah," he said on Facebook.
Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah previously expressed frustration at the gathering and said the possibility of a new Covid-19 cluster emerging will only be known within a fortnight of the gathering.
Najib acknowledged the gathering was a mistake and urged people to comply with the rules set by the Health Ministry to contain the spread of the virus.
"Don't repeat the mistake of that day. We need to always observe the standard operating procedures for the good of everyone," he said.
There have been rare instances where Covid-19's incubation period takes up to 27 days but most cases take between three to five days before the symptoms show.
Most health regulators adopt a 14-day incubation period to provide for a buffer.
Najib was on July 28 sentenced to 12 years in prison and an RM210 million fine.
Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali found him guilty on all charges - three counts of money laundering, three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of abuse of power - chalking up a total of 72 years in prison.
However, Najib will only need to serve 12 years as the sentences are to run concurrently. Najib's defence team has stayed the sentence pending an appeal to a higher court.
A total of 160 new Covid-19 cases have been reported since July 28 but many of them have centred around the northwestern region of Peninsular Malaysia after a permanent resident who returned from India broke home quarantine rules and set off the Sivagangga cluster.
To date, Malaysia has recorded 9,103 Covid-19 cases of which 8,809 patients have recovered. A total of 125 people have died from the virus.
Globally, 20.52 million people have been infected with Covid-19 and 13.4 million people have recovered. A total of 745,928 people have perished from the virus. - Mkini
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