KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — Tan Sri Annuar Musa said he broke no Covid-19 protocols when he met and uploaded a picture of him and two colleagues walking side by side without a mask yesterday.

Annuar said that he was merely on his morning walk when he bumped into former Kuala Lumpur City Hall director-general Datuk Dr Noordin Abdul Razak and former Kelantan Football Association treasurer Datuk Nik Aminaldin Jaafar on the same path.

Annuar said he did not break any SOPs and that the matter is a non-issue after he received heavy criticism for not adhering to the SOPs as he was merely exercising and met them coincidentally. 

"This photo has conjured grumblings about SOPs. I understand these comments are based on this photo. The fact is, these two were doing their own brisk walking, alone, and as it happened we met at the junction of Jalan Setia Bakti 1.

"We then went our own separate ways. SOP complied,” Annuar tweeted several hours ago.

Under the second movement control order (MCO 2.0), outdoor activities like running and exercising are allowed.

However, only members from the same household will be allowed to do so and social distancing must be adhered to at all times.

Annuar was heavily criticised for not physically distancing himself from his colleagues with many claiming double standards while others chided him that the rules don’t apply to ministers and politicians.

MCO 2.0 started on January 13, 2021, for almost half the states in Malaysia before its expansion to every state except Sarawak and is currently scheduled to end on February 4 if not further extended.