Foreign, Health
MALAYSIA’S government is being accused of double standards for exempting ministers from a mandatory quarantine while authorities arrest other citizens for breaching coronavirus restrictions.
The dispensation came into effect on Tuesday and means ministers will be monitored for three days upon returning from abroad rather than having to quarantine for 10.
Lim Guan Eng, leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) and former finance minister said the discrepancy amounted to “double standards’’.
Former Prime Minister Najib Razak, a lawmaker with the governing United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), criticized the exemption as a health risk as ministers could potentially “carry the infection from abroad’’.
Malaysia’s government had in January imposed a second pandemic-related lockdown in response to a spike in infections, as the country recorded the newest cases per million in the Asia-Pacific.
The government also imposed a state of emergency, suspending parliament until August and prompting opposition parties to inaugurate legal challenges.
The restrictions have been rigorously enforced, with Defence Minister Ismail Yaakob on Monday announcing that more than 900 arrests were made the previous day for alleged breaches.
Ahead of this week’s Chinese New Year holiday, Ismail on Tuesday announced a slight easing of rules to allow restaurants to serve dine-in customers.
Around one-quarter of Malaysians are of Chinese descent.
Malaysia’s Health Ministry reported almost 2,800 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.
The highest daily number of fatalities was reported on Monday with 24 virus-related deaths. (DPA/NAN)
– Feb. 09, 2021 @ 14:43 GMT
Tags: Malaysian ministers exempt from quarantine in spite lock down
