“Relief Order” For Keningau MP Who Didn’t Undergo Mandatory Quarantine After Returning From Sabah

During the 10 months that Malaysia has undergone the Movement Control Order (MCO), we have seen the double standards of the government when ordinary folk are fined huge sums of money while VIPs and government officials are let off the hook.

During the Dewan Rakyat session today (24 November), Keningau MP Jeffrey Kitingan was questioned by several opposition MPs whether he had completed his mandatory 14-day quarantine after returning from Sabah to attend Parliament.

Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil asked deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said if Jeffrey is still supposed to be under quarantine, after which Mohd Azis Jamman (Sepanggar MP) said that Jeffrey had attended the Sabah state assembly on 12 November, indicating that he has yet to finish his home quarantine period.

“We Sabah MPs have always complied with the rules. When we came to the peninsular, we were quarantined for 14 days. It’s been nearly two months since I’ve seen my wife and children because I couldn’t return to Sabah,” Azis said.

In response to these questions, Azalina said she could not give an answer and told the opposition MPs to wait while she asked the Dewan Rakyat secretary to get confirmation on the matter.

Dr Kelvin Yii (Bandar Kuching MP) then said to Azalina that while waiting for the confirmation, she should consider asking Jeffrey to leave the hall just “to be safe”. However, she said she could not do that.

Moments later, the Dewan Rakyat secretary returned with the confirmation and passed a note to Azalina that said Jeffrey had received a “relief order” from the health ministry “after finishing quarantine”, according to the Parliament doctor.

The double standard issue was then raised by one MP to which Azis noted that other Sabah MPs had taken great measures to ensure that they would not be spreaders of Covid-19.

“My aunt passed away last week, but I wasn’t allowed to go back. We have sacrificed nearly two months. If not, it would have been better for me to go back to Sabah to mourn (the death of) my aunt. But what we see here is that Keningau is allowed to enter the Dewan.”

At about 1pm, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun asked for time to verify claims that Jeffrey breached quarantine. The speaker also said in the meantime, Jeffrey cannot enter Parliament.

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