Cops to take Rashid Hasnon's statement over alleged durian feast

Police will take the statement in the near future of Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Rashid Hasnon, who is accused of violating movement control order (MCO) SOPs over an alleged durian feast

When contacted by Malaysiakini, Batu Pahat police chief Ismail Dollah said that further investigation was carried out after his department received a report over the recording of the Batu Pahat member of Parliament attending a durian feast recently.

“We will call YB (Rashid Hasnon) in the near future after he returns from Kuala Lumpur. We have contacted him and he will give full cooperation. InsyaAllah he will come to the police station to have his statement taken,” he told Malaysiakini.

The deputy speaker was recently filmed by a camera enjoying a durian eating event with a group of individuals.

The event is said to have taken place in his parliamentary constituency of Batu Pahat last Sunday.

However, when contacted by Malaysiakini yesterday, Rashid initially said the durian feast took place last year and it was an “old video”.

His aide also said the presence of an individual at the durian festival wearing the same attire as the previous event at the Batu Pahat Municipal Council, happened by “coincidence”.

Following this, Rashid in a statement today admitted to attending the durian feast recently and that it was not last year as previously claimed.

He also apologised for his offense and promised to cooperate with the police who are investigating the incident.

Commenting further, Ismail said a number of people have been called to assist in the investigation.

“Until now, 11 people have been called to assist with the investigation. There are a few more people to be called,” he said.

According to Ismail, the case is being investigated under the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Regulations 2021.

Meanwhile, Rashid, when contacted, said several individuals who participated in the event had gone to the Batu Pahat Police Station to testify last night.

However, Rashid did not comment further on when he would present himself for questioning.

He said briefly that the owners of the orchard, Kadir and Syed Mohamad, as the hosts had gone to Batu Pahat Police Station last night to give evidence. - Mkini