YOURSAY | ‘Adham is formulating SOP based on his whims and fancies...’

Adham relaxes quarantine rules for fellow ministers on official trips

Ministers or ordinary M'sians: Covid-19 can't tell the difference, doc tells Adham

Apanakdikato: The exemption under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Order 2021 issued by Health Minister Dr Adham Baba is a clear abuse of the provisions under the Emergency Ordinance.

The audacious decision by Perikatan Nasional (PN) to cut the quarantine period for ministers to three days from the mandatory 10 days, can best be described as shameful, selfish, and highly irresponsible.

The current wave of Covid-19 infections was first spread by politicians zigzagging across the whole country during the Sabah state elections last year.

With the infection rate now in an out-of-control situation, and with the collapse of the healthcare system, PN is going to make things much worse by allowing its ministers to import more infectious strains from foreign countries.

This will not only cause more precious and innocent lives to be lost, but also hamper the effectiveness of the vaccination programme, which is already severely behind schedule.

The rakyat implore the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to take heed of this abuse of power and rescind the emergency declaration as soon as possible to prevent further abuse by PN.

The irresponsible and selfish attitude of the PN leadership should be evident to the Agong by now. Please let the mandate of the people be returned to the democratically-elected government.

Kingfisher1974: Adham, what is your rationale for the three-day quarantine for ministers? Where is the evidence that it is safe?

Here are the facts as currently known:

1. Incubation period up to 14 days but most cases show symptoms from day four to six.

2. This short quarantine period increases the risk to ministers. Some of them have other health issues that worsen their condition if they are infected.

3. It increases the risk to everyone around them for the next seven days at least - their families, staff, public. If there is a cluster, it becomes a burden on our hospitals.

4. They are a health hazard to themselves and to others.

5. Does the Health Ministry agree to this new rule?

Hcleong: Dear minister, why the double standards? What's the reason for reducing the quarantine period for ministers from 10 to three days whereas all others must be 10 days?

Being a leader, you must set a good and inspiring example. No special treatment to yourselves, especially at this time of the global pandemic.

IndigoKite6964: Indeed, so much for them for saying that they really have the rakyat at heart. There never was and there never will be with this bunch of politicians.

With this special SOP (special operating procedure) for these VIPs, I can't be bothered if all of them fall ill and there isn't a cabinet to run the country. It makes no difference whether we have a cabinet or not.

They don't see themselves getting sick as a security risk to the country. What bothers me is that ordinary rakyat will suffer because of their stupidity. Do keep safe. Those potent mutations of Covid-19 will be at our shores soon.

OCT: It looks like the Malaysian Covid-19 virus is so smart that it can differentiate between ministers and the rakyat. It must be a new Covid variant. It only attacks the rakyat.

Everywhere in the world, there is only one standard that everyone follows. Yet in Malaysia, we have exemption for ministers. Our ministers seem to be immune to the virus. It seems our health minister has negotiated with the virus to agree not to attack our VVIP ministers.

In times like this, why must our ministers travel all over the world when they can have online meetings?

Our health minister is formulating the SOP based on his whims and fancies and not based on science and facts. When the whole world is clamping down on world leaders from travelling, we have our hero cabinet ministers going everywhere without a care for the pandemic.

When a cabinet minister travels, he doesn't travel alone. He travels with an entourage. So, does the new SOP also exempt those travelling with the minister? Most likely. Now, do we see a problem?

Our cabinet ministers cannot be trusted to lead by example. There is no guiding principles and best practices. Indeed, they are not fit to be cabinet ministers.

Rakyat Malaysia: There is no science behind any traveller to quarantine for only three days. If it's only three days, why bother to quarantine at all? I know the ministers need to travel for work. I know that being quarantined for prolonged periods may mean that they can't get work done.

But being a minister does not mean they are less likely to be infected or less likely to be contagious. It is this double standard that will keep Malaysia as a Covid hotspot.

Remember that this is exactly why the third wave happened - because of Sabah elections and the returning travellers who did not quarantine properly.

This three-day quarantine decision is neither political nor is it corruption. It's just stupidity. And that's worse.

Vijay47: Adham, you may not have realised that you have struck the mother lode this time.

Section 15 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Order 2021 is much more potent that the public ever thought possible and only now do we understand that once again Malaysia has made an earth-shattering discovery that will bring the world of medicine to a warm standstill - law overrides virus.

The duration of a Covid-19 quarantine now need not be decided by health considerations! It is whatever the minister decides it to be with the aid of the Section 15 magic-wand.

Thus, when he decides to reduce the quarantine period from 10 to three days, fellow ministers and those who earn his favour are immediately rendered immune to the virus and are accordingly safe unto themselves and all those they come into contact with.

The potential is mind-boggling. Perhaps you can now decree, on the strength of Section 15 of course, that Covid-19 shall forthwith have no effect on any Malaysian.

In fact, in view of our international ties, you can extend such protection to Indonesia from whence our dear leader Muhyiddin Yassin just pulang (returned) to Tanah Air. Similar benefit can be granted to the UAE where Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein presently languishes.

Don’t forget to cancel the vaccine orders.

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