Khairuddin ‘morally wrong’ for breaching quarantine, says Najib

 

Najib Razak says legally, it is difficult to find Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali guilty of the offense.

PETALING JAYA: Najib Razak said it was “morally wrong” for Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali to not undergo quarantine even though he had not been found guilty of the offence.

This comes after police said no further action would be taken against Khairuddin over his breach of the quarantine SOP after returning from Turkey in July.

“In my opinion, Khairuddin is morally wrong and he has apologised for it by donating his salary (to the Covid-19 Fund). Legally, it is hard to find him guilty,” Najib said in a Facebook post today, adding that Khairuddin had been careless in not undergoing the mandatory quarantine.

He said Khairuddin had been fined for his mistake and could not be “charged twice” for the same offence. He also said Khairuddin’s case should not be compared with those penalised for breaching quarantine.

Citing the example of a senior citizen famously known as “the woman with a pink bracelet” who tested positive for Covid-19 and was sentenced to a day in jail and fined RM8,000 for breaching the mandatory quarantine, he said Khairuddin was not ordered to undergo the quarantine upon returning to the country.

“It is not the same, as Khairuddin had tested negative for Covid-19 and was not ordered to undergo quarantine or wear a pink wristband,” he said.

Earlier, Bukit Aman CID chief Huzir Mohamed said the decision not to take further action against Khairuddin was made as the minister had not been issued the form to undergo quarantine upon returning to the country.

“The investigation papers had been referred to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and we were instructed to classify this case under ‘no further action’.” - FMT