JOHOR BARU, July 14 — Former minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman’s parliamentary constituency office in Muar has been ordered to close from today due to non-compliance of the standard operating procedure (SOP).
It is understood that the order came from Ministry of Health (MoH) officials and not the police who were spotted visiting the premises on Jalan Abdul Rahman yesterday.
A source, who is familiar with the closure order, said the decision was made based on the MoH’s assessment of the situation at the office.
The site is the base from which Syed Saddiq usually distributes aid to Muar’s needy.
“The police were there to assist KKM (the Malay initials for MoH) officials only.
“Apparently, the MoH said all aid for the needy should be sent to the respective households and not be centralised at one premises to avoid Covid-19 infections,” said the source who declined to be named last night.
Earlier in the evening, Syed Saddiq announced that the police had instructed him to close his Muar parliamentary constituency office from today.
The 28-year-old Muar MP voiced his unhappiness at the closure order and stressed that he has always assisted those who are struggling, hungry and sick.
“My office can’t turn away people who want to come (for assistance) and I don’t have the heart to tell them to go home because the place is packed with people.
“The people of the Muar parliamentary constituency are my responsibility,” said Syed Saddiq in a post on his official Facebook page.
On Saturday, Syed Saddiq announced that the RM300,000 Food Basket Aid allocation from the government would go to 5,000 families in Muar.
Initially, he said the government’s plan had been for all MPs to help 3,000 families (RM100 per family) in their respective parliamentary constituencies from the allocation, but that he had managed to secure more funds through negotiation.
The assistance came from popular supermarket chain KK Super Mart and transportation providers TheLorry.
Syed Saddiq said that he and his parliamentary constituency team have been busy distributing food aid for the past two days.
He said that usually more than 150 families come to his office daily, but over the past two days, the number has risen sharply.
Despite that, Syed Saddiq pointed out that his team did their best to observe the SOPs such as using a coupon system, asking the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) to conduct crowd control and informing the police.
“I have also distributed food aid to all village heads for distribution in their respective areas.
“We capped the number of visitors to the office. They also have to queue while keeping a safe distance outside the office,” he said.
However, Syed Saddiq said many more need his assistance, and that he will never stop the people of Muar from coming to his office.
“The reality is many more Muar constituents are poor, hungry and sick. The SOPs are indeed adhered to, but I really can’t control the number of recipients who come to the office,” he said.
