Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today urged the authorities to issue him with a fine for not signing in during lunch at a restaurant today.
He urged the authorities to do so because he does not believe in double standards.
"There are no 'double standards' in my vocabulary. I don't know about other people, other parties or cabinet minister.
"If they (benefit from) double standards, that is their problem. I don't want double standards in my case," he said on his Facebook page today.
On March 14, several cabinet ministers had allegedly crossed state borders to attend a wedding in Negeri Sembilan. The police are investigating the matter.
Video clips of Najib and his entourage, which included the recently re-instated police escort, dining at a chicken rice shop in Bukit Bintang were making rounds recently.
It showed Najib walking in without having to undergo the normal "check-in" process - through pen and paper or a smartphone application - and a temperature check.
Najib said he admitted not doing so but claimed that his officers did.
Najib said he expected to be fined RM1,500 as announced by de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan.
"I will pay within seven days to qualify for the 50 percent early bird discount and pay RM750," he said.
Cabinet had on Wednesday announced that fines can be discounted - 50 percent if paid within seven days and 25 percent within 14 days.
Takiyuddin said the fines will now be three-tiered - RM1,500 for the first offence on the lowest tier and RM10,000 for the third and highest tier.
At the time of writing, no new emergency ordinance outlining the tiered structure has been published, which would likely mean that the Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 - which stipulated a maximum RM10,000 fine - gazetted on Feb 25 was still in effect.
Should Najib be fined more than RM2,000, Article 48(1)(e) does not apply because the fine was not issued by the court.
However, there are critics such as Beruas MP Ngeh Khoo Ham who argued that the police, in most cases, do not have written consent from the public prosecutor to hand out these fines under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
Ngeh had also urged the attorney-general to clarify if the police indeed had the power to issue such fines. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.