SEVERAL lawmakers and disgruntled members of the public have expressed outrage at apparent government double standards in imposing fines for breach of the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP).

The anger has stemmed from the RM10,000 fine issued to Barisan Nasional (BN) yesterday for breaching the SOP at the launch of its Malacca election machinery.

The general consensus was that BN got off lightly and the government would not have hesitated to dish out harsher punishments for the opposition, or even ordinary members of the public.

Bakri MP Yeo Bee Yin posted a picture on Twitter of an event where the opposition marched to Dataran Merdeka on August 2, after the road to Parliament was closed.

She said every MP who participated in the gathering was issued with a fine.

She urged the government to have the courage to do the same to all those who attended the BN gathering at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur last night.

“Reminder to the Health Ministry: each of us was fined. Now, do the same to the BN gathering last night.

“Ismail Sabri Yaakob (Prime Minister) and Khairy Jamaluddin (Health Minister) have some guts,” she tweeted.

Opposition MPs were fined RM3,000 each for gathering at the Dataran Merdeka.

Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin then said that the government agreed to lower the compound to RM1,000 each.

Yesterday, the health authorities issued a RM10,000 compound notice to BN for breaching health SOP.

The compound, issued by the Kepong health department, stated that the organisers had failed to observe physical distancing at the event.

“So, next time someone can organise a carnival with 10,000 people and still be fined RM10,000?” she said in a following tweet.

Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman also vented his fury on social media, in light of a Muda member having to pay a RM4,000 fine for attending a special press conference at an open space in Malacca yesterday.

The press conference was only attended by five Muda members but one individual in particular, who was not named, was fined RM4,000 for allegedly breaching the SOP.

“Gathered in huge numbers and launched of an election machinery event but only fined RM10,000.

“There were thousands who attended. Never practiced physical distancing, never checked-in MySejahtera, never used facemask and there was no effort to care for the country in battling this Covid-19 pandemic.

“Just to make everyone satisfied, a maximum fine was given. We all know that this was never serious at all… this is just too much,” he said in a Facebook post today.

Lawyer and Muda’s pro-tem vice-president Lim Wei Jiet called it a clear case of double standards.

“Muda, five people, did a press conference in open-air space – was fined RM4,000.

“Umno, thousands of people gathered in a closed hall with aircon – fined RM10,000.

“What else is this if it is not double standard?” he said, adding that the RM10,000 fine was pocket money for some politicians, indirectly referring to former Federal Territories minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who during his corruption trial said that RM2 million is just pocket money for him.

Lawyer Syahredzan Johan in a series of tweets cited several incidents of the past fines issued for SOP violations and compared it with the fines imposed on BN.

In one of his tweets, he compared the incident where a burger seller was fined RM50,000 in April this year for operating beyond hours.

In another image he posted an article on an individual being fined RM10,000 for not scanning the MySejahtera but then said a packed BN gathering yesterday was levied the same fine, but only as a group.

The Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021, published on the Federal Gazette website, allows a person to be fined up to RM10,000 for violating SOPs and movement control order regulations.

Companies or corporations that violate MCO regulations are liable to be fined up to RM50,000.

On this point, Syahredzan replied to a tweet by the Health Minister’s press secretary Syahir Bakar, sarcastically asking why BN was just fined RM10,000 and was it because the ministry treated it as a “social event”.

Meanwhile, Twitter user @NazirulMubin44 said the ordinary public gathering in numbers and violating the SOP will be issued compounds individually, but for BN, which organised an event that was attended by many, only the organiser was given fine.

SOP violations by politicians

In September, Hamzah said 56 politicians were detained by the authorities for flouting the Covid-19 SOP since the movement control order was imposed in March last year.

Throughout the MCO, from March 18, 2020, to August 25, 2021, a total of 56 politicians were caught violating SOP, Hamzah said.

Of this number, 22 compounds were issued, while 25 were said to be under investigation, eight classified as “no further action” and one having been prosecuted in court.

No explicit breakdown on the violations was given.

Among the prominent names that caught the limelight for breaching the Covid-19 SOP were Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa, Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon, former prime minister Najib Razak, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and Pejuang leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Below are some of those cases:

Sanusi

On June 3, a Facebook user alleged that she and her husband saw Sanusi at a car dealership in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, where he had allegedly test-driven a car.

The woman said Sanusi, the PAS assemblyman for Jeneri, had clearly violated the SOP when he was in a car with three passengers.

Sanusi was allegedly test-driving a blue Ford Raptor during the full lockdown phase of the MCO.

Sanusi was fined RM1,500 over the incident.

Former minister of plantation industries and commodities Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali

Khairuddin, the PAS MP for Kuala Nerus, was alleged to have violated the SOP when he was stopped at a roadblock in Perasing, Terengganu, on May 16.

Terengganu police chief Roslee Chik said an investigation was carried out. He said more statements will be recorded before the investigation paper is referred to the deputy public prosecutor’s office for further action.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed

On June 26, a picture was posted on social media showing Mustapa eating at a cafe in his Jeli constituency in Kelantan.

The picture was originally uploaded by the owner of the restaurant on Facebook, happy at the Bersatu MP’s visit to his cafe.

The post went viral, with many pointing out that Mustapa had clearly violated the SOP by eating in a shop when it was prohibited to do so during the lockdown.

Mustapa apologised and later the Prime Minister’s Department in a statement said he had co-operated with the police and left it to them to take the appropriate action.

Police said that the investigation papers have been completed and have been sent to the deputy public prosecutor’s office for further instructions.

Rashid

On July 2, a video of Rashid eating durian in an orchard with the entourage of Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Zuraidah Kamaruddin went viral.

Social media users were angry because the people seen in the clip did not practise physical distancing and some did not wear masks.

Rashid, the MP for Batu Pahat, denied the incident at first, but later apologised. He said he was visiting durian farmers who were affected by the lockdown.

He was embroiled in controversy again in July, when he was said to have dined in for a Aidiladha supper, despite Covid-19 restrictions.

His aide denied the matter but police said they were investigating the incident.

Annuar

The Ketereh MP violated Covid-19 SOP three times in all. The last was his visit to the home of former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Umno politician was fined RM2,000 for the breach of SOP.

His other two offences previously were jogging with more than two people and eating with a group of people at a community centre. All were during the MCO.

Najib

The Pekan MP paid a hefty price for a chicken rice meal in March when he failed to scan his temperature and register himself through MySejahtera, after dining at a restaurant in Bukit Bintang.

Najib was given a RM1,500 fine for each offence, while the restaurant was given a RM10,000 fine for its part in the offences.

Dr Mahathir

The former prime minister violated the SOP by not taking his temperature before entering a charity event at a surau in Langkawi, Kedah.

The Langkawi MP apologised and said he was ready to face the music. Police then said they had opened an investigation. – October 28, 2021.