Dissatisfying conclusion to Khairuddin's case

 

After months of waiting, the curious case of Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali reached its conclusion.

To recap, back in August, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok revealed in the Dewan Rakyat that Khairuddin (above) had travelled to Turkey on July 3 and did not quarantine himself once he returned to Malaysia.

At the time, the reason given for not undergoing quarantine was that he had taken the Covid-19 test and was found to be negative.

Then on Aug 22, the Health Ministry issued a statement. It said that Khairuddin had indeed breached the quarantine rule when he did not self-quarantine upon his return to Malaysia.

According to the statement, the minister was issued a compound notice of RM1,000 and he purportedly paid it on Aug 7.

Not long after that, Khairuddin apologised to Malaysians and announced that he would return his ministerial salary from May to August, and contribute the amount to the National Disaster Relief Fund (Covid-19 Fund).

However, public anger did not abate. The police then announced that they would investigate him as numerous police reports were lodged against the PAS politician.

Khairuddin’s case has gone back and forth between the police and the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) several times in the preceding two months.

Finally, on Oct 21, Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Huzir Mohamed in a press conference revealed that the attorney-general (AG) had decided not to take action against Khairuddin for breaching the compulsory Covid-19 quarantine order.

Huzir Mohamed

“The investigation paper was sent to the AGC and the instruction was 'NFA' (no further action) because the minister was not provided with the 14B form to undergo quarantine," he said. 

Based on the absence of any “concrete statement”, he said, the AGC decided not to charge the minister.

Essentially, the AG’s reasoning is that since the 14B form was not issued to Khairuddin, there was, therefore, no order for him to undergo quarantine.

As there was no quarantine order, the Kuala Nerus MP cannot be charged for breaching quarantine. This was later confirmed by the AG himself in a press statement issued on the same day. Curiously, unlike his previous press statements, this time the AG did not sign off on his own name but listed his position instead.

As expected, the AG’s decision was met with a storm of anger and protest online. Many viewed this as double standards on the part of the government, and the prime minister's assurance that there will be no double standards in enforcing the standard operating procedure (SOP) was again called into question. "Abah's" (father's) proverbial "rotan" (cane) did not reach his own minister.

Indeed, this was a dissatisfying conclusion to Khairuddin’s case. It also raised several questions.

Why was Khairuddin not issued a quarantine order, unlike normal citizens who returned from abroad?

If indeed Khairuddin was not issued the order, why did the Health Ministry say that he was issued a compound notice on Aug 7?

Politically, this decision will haunt the prime minister and his government. It will hang above them like a sword of Damocles, as the government’s popularity dips as a result of its handling of the Covid-19 third wave.

It also brings into question this government’s commitment to the rule of law. If ordinary citizens are arrested, charged and punished for breaching the Covid-19 rules, why can ministers flout the same rule? Why is Khairuddin, for example, not even asked to undergo quarantine?

The rakyat perceived that there seem to be two different treatments between ordinary citizens and members of the cabinet. They see it as if there are two different classes and the law treats members of these classes differently.

This is a worrying state of affairs. If citizens lose faith in the rule of law, it may threaten the very fabric of our society. It would not be a stretch to say that we may even see a rise in SOP and rule breaches in the future.

If that happens, we would be one step closer to becoming a failed state.

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SYAHREDZAN JOHAN is a civil liberties lawyer and political secretary to Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.