POLICE have arrested a Twitter user under the Emergency Ordinance (Essential Powers) for questioning the government’s RM70 million allocation to develop the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee website. 

According to Syahredzan Johan, the user, @ChairmanGLC was picked up last night. 

“I was informed that @ChairmanGLC was arrested and will be spending the night at Dang Wangi lock-up.” 

“He was detained under the Emergency Ordinance regarding the RM70 million,” Syahredzan tweeted. 

@ChairmanGLC, or his real name Aizad Fahmy, had allegedly spread misinformation related to the RM70 million allocation to develop the website on Twitter six days ago. 

Meanwhile, Parti Aspirasi Sains Se-Malaysia in a statement slammed police for the arrest, calling it as an act of harassment. 

“The party deplores any unnecessary use of police resources to apprehend an individual simply for exercising his right to freedom of speech and expression as enshrined under Article 10 of the federal constitution.” 

“Detaining Aizad constitutes as harassment and intimidation by the authorities. We call for his immediate release,” the party said. 

Aizad will be released at 6pm after police managed to have him remanded for a day.

Recently, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is also in charge of coordinating the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, said that the RM70 million is not the actual amount the government spent on the website. 

He clarified that the sum was the “ceiling” set aside by the government that encompasses the development and management of several other health systems. 

The government came under heavy criticism after thousands of Malaysians faced difficulty trying to register for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine last week. 

Social media has been rife with angry users demanding the minister explain the whopping amount just for the website. – June 5, 2021.