Police to call Deputy Speaker Rashid over another SOP breach

764
- Advertisement - [resads_adspot id="2"]

The police will summon Batu Pahat member of parliament Mohd Rashid Hasnon for allegedly flouting the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP).

Batu Pahat police chief Ismail Dollah said in a statement yesterday that an investigation paper has been opened after a picture of Rashid and two other women having a meal at a farm in the district went viral.

Facebook

“Batu Pahat police have discovered a picture of Batu Pahat MP Mohd Rashid Hasnon having a meal with two women at a farm in the district on July 23.

“Another picture which was also shared showed that Rashid was with a man and two other women accomplices without wearing a face mask and did not observe the social distancing rule.

“The matter is being investigated under Section 17(1) of the Prevention and Control of the Infectious Disease Act 2020. We will call the lawmaker for questioning soon,” he said.

An aide to the MP, Mohd Zaihan Mohd Zainal, has denied that the Bersatu lawmaker breached any SOP, saying that the photo was taken in the wee hours of the morning while Rashid, his wife Azizah Haron, and their daughter were waiting for the Hari Raya Aidiladha sacrificial rites to begin.

“Knowing the rites were to take place at 3am, Rashid and his family booked overnight accommodation at the homestay, which is close to the centre,” Zaihan said in a Facebook post today.

“The photo was taken in the early morning before the ritual began while he was having supper with his family,” he said.

Earlier this month, Rashid, who is a deputy speaker in the Dewan Rakyat, was also caught violating the Covid-19 SOP for attending a durian party in Batu Pahat.

He has since apologised, but not before claiming that the picture of him eating durian with a group of people was an old picture.

The apology came after he was bombarded with criticism from social media users who claimed he was lying.

The police also recorded the statements of 15 individuals, including Rashid, to aid investigations over the SOP breach. – July 23, 2021.

Deputy speaker in hot water again over Aidiladha supper, aide denies SOP violation

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon is in hot water again, this time for allegedly dining in, despite Covid-19 SOPs prohibiting this.

Police have confirmed that they are investigating Rashid over a photo of the incident.

This comes less than a month after he got into trouble for attending a durian feast.

The photo of the latest incident shows Rashid, his wife, and his daughter having a meal.

At the bottom of the photo, another individual’s hand can be seen, while a half-filled glass can be seen on the left of the photo.

Rashid’s aide, however, denied there was any SOP breach, saying the Batu Pahat MP was just having supper with his family at a homestay.

According to Rashid’s private secretary Mohd Zaihan Mohd Zainal, Rashid had stayed at the homestay in Rengit, Batu Pahat, earlier this week so that he could partake in Aidiladha ritual sacrifices.

Zaihan said Rashid had booked a homestay near the slaughterhouse and his turn to slaughter a cow was only scheduled for 3am.

“The viral picture was taken early in the morning, before the slaughtering session, with his wife and daughter when they were having supper.

“It doesn’t arise that Rashid breached SOPs,” the aide added.

Late last month, Rashid was caught on camera having durian with a large group of people, in violation of SOPs. This coincided with an event he had in Batu Pahat on June 27.

Rashid had initially claimed that the video was from last year.

Zaihan at the time echoed his boss’ claim and said two people wearing the same clothes at both the durian feast and the official event was a “coincidence”.

However, Rashid later admitted to being at fault, and that he had commented without watching the video first.

Police have completed a probe into the durian feast and submitted their investigation papers to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. – TMI