Malaysian MPs who tested positive, as of 11 Nov 2021

[This article was originally published on Feb 2021, and had since been updated with current events.]

Last we checked, the virus-who-shall-not-be-named is still running rampant in Malaysia. And despite some of them acting like they’re immune to it…

…even people in the government can get caught up in the infection sensation every once in a while. So in the spirit of having too much time in the lockdown/emergency/whatever it is that we’re having right now, we’re setting up bingo cards a series of posters that track how many of our gomen peepur caught the bug already, and how many are still pristine.

Since we have an ungodly number of them around, we’re splitting them into three articles based on the level of the government they’re in, and as of the time of update (Oct 12, 2021)..

• 4 senators had tested positive (click here for the senator list)
• 15 out of 220 MPs had tested positive
• 15 out of 503 ADUNs had tested positive (click here for the ADUN list)

This article showcases the MPs, so if you want to check out the senators and the ADUNs, you can click on the links in the list above.

1. Perlis – 1 INFECTED

Notes:

P001, Padang Besar: Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister.

• Tested positive on Jan 13, 2021, after returning to Kuala Lumpur from Penang a few days prior. Fourth Cabinet minister to catch it. Taken to Sungai Buloh Hospital for treatment. Discharged on Jan 24.

2. Kedah – CLEAN

Notes:

No reported cases.

3. Kelantan – 3 INFECTED

Notes:

P021, Kota Bharu: Takiyuddin Hassan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister.

• It was revealed on Nov 11, 2021 that Takiyuddin had tested positive as he was absent from Parliament. Previously, the minister had been in quarantine mid-September due to close contact with a positive patient.

P030, Jeli: Mustapa Mohamed, Economic Affairs Minister.

• Tested positive on Jan 10, 2021, in Kota Bharu after returning from Kuala Lumpur. Second Cabinet member to test positive. Admitted to the Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II for 12 days, three of which were spent in the ICU due to breathing problems and lack of energy. Recovered and discharged on Jan 21.

P032, Gua Musang: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, aka Ku Li.

• Was confirmed positive around Jan 14, 2021, found through contact tracing of Nenggiri assemblyman Ab Aziz Yusoff. Was treated at the University Malaya Medical Center. No public records of discharge or recovery, and no recent updates on his Facebook page or Twitter.

4. Terengganu – CLEAN

Notes:

No reported cases.

5. Penang – 1 INFECTED

Notes:

P047, Nibong Tebal: Mansor Othman, Deputy Minister of Higher Education.

• Among the 56 people who tested positive following screening tests between 21 and 25 July 2021, prior to a special seating in Parliament.

6. Perak – 4 INFECTED

P056, Larut: Hamzah Zainuddin, Home Minister.

• Tested positive on Jan 12, 2021, presumably following the screening of the Cabinet ministers after Mustapa Mohamed was confirmed positive. Admitted to the University Malaya Medical Center. Experienced severe headaches and fever, and had to undergo physiotherapy to restore strength to his lungs. Eventually recovered, discharged on Jan 24.

P061, Padang Rengas: Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

• Tested positive on Jan 19, 2021, after contact with Zaharin Mohd Yasin, another tested-positive blogger who attended his press conference. Admitted to the Raja Perempuan Zainab Hospital in Kelantan for treatment. Had persistent cough, and seemed to spent some time in the ICU as well. Recovered and discharged from hospital on Jan 28, home quarantine ended on Feb 2.

P073, Pasir Salak: Tajuddin Rahman.

• Tested positive on Jan 20, 2021, apparently having caught the virus at the same press conference as Nazri. Taken to the Sungai Buloh Hospital for treatment. Recovered, discharged on Jan 28.

P075, Bagan Datuk: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

• Among the 56 people who tested positive following screening tests between 21 and 25 July 2021, prior to a special seating in Parliament.

7. Pahang – CLEAN

Notes:

No reported cases.

8. Selangor – 1 INFECTED

Notes:

P102 Bangi: Ong Kian Ming

• Tested positive on Oct 11, 2021, after a self-test prior to attending a Parliament seating. This was later confirmed through an RT-PCR test. No symptoms noticed, will be undergoing a 10-day quarantine.

9. Federal Territories (KL, Putrajaya, Labuan) – 1 INFECTED

P119, Titiwangsa: Rina Mohd Harun, Women, Family and Community Development Minister.

• Tested positive on Jan 10, 2021. Admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital the next day for further observation. Seems to be tested after all Cabinet ministers told to undergo screening following Mustapa Mohamed testing positive. We can’t find details of quarantine, recovery or discharge, but @kpwkm’s FB page showed that she’s been up and about since.

10. Negeri Sembilan – CLEAN

Notes:

No reported cases.

11. Malacca – CLEAN

Notes:

No reported cases.

12. Johor – 1 INFECTED

P156, Kota Tinggi: Halimah Mohamed Sadique, National Unity Minister.

• Confirmed positive on Jan 19, 2021. It was reported that she will undergo treatment and quarantine while being monitored by health authorities in Johor Baru, but other than that, we couldn’t find any further detail. Her latest FB post (Feb 5 as of the time of writing) and the comments imply that her ordeal is not yet over, although we can’t be sure.

13. Sabah – 1 INFECTED

P180, Keningau: Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan

• Also Sabah’s deputy Chief Minister as well as assemblyman for Tambunan (N39). Tested positive on Jan 4, 2021. Received treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said he felt fine. Later recovered and discharged on Jan 16.

14. Sarawak – 3 INFECTED

P195, Bandar Kuching: Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen.

• Tested positive on Mar 16, 2020, and admitted to Sarawak General Hospital the day after. Had prior contact with Andrew Wong of Sarikei, no typical symptoms. Seems to be discharged on Mar 23.

P197, Kota Samarahan: Rubiah Wang.

• Tested positive on Apr 4, 2020. Not much else is known, but it seems she survived: a recent posting by the Kota Samarahan service center showed that she’s out delivering food to frontliners and people in a village in Serian.

P208, Sarikei: Andrew Wong Ling Bui.

• Tested positive on Mar 15, 2020, but his story was pretty interesting. Apparently, Andrew suspected that he got the bug previously, and tried to get tested at a few health centers but was refused because he didn’t come into contact with anyone positive, among other reasons. He finally got admitted into Sibu Hospital on Mar 7, where he fell into a 42-day coma… which meant that his testing was done after he was in a coma. He was quarantined for 73 days, eventually recovered and was finally discharged on May 30, 2020.

Who will be the next to get infected?

Despite the seeming difference in status, both politicians and normal people can get the virus, so for them to test positive isn’t really strange. But there’s something to be said about that happening to the government people, since there is a perception of them not following the SOPs and rules that they themselves had put down/enforced, especially after the Sabah elections. While some politicians did take all the precautions and still got the virus, the same can’t be said for all of them, so expect edits to these articles sometime soon, we guess.

Perhaps politicians can also adopt a new normal themselves: while the hallmark of a good politician used to be going out to meet the people – or ‘turun padang’ as some would call it – perhaps they should start considering other ways to represent their people.

In the mean time, do let us know if we’ve missed someone, and as a side note… while we do not endorse betting, even more so when it’s at someone else’s expense… if you can guess which politician might be the next to be touched by the virus, let us know in the comments! Who knows? If you get it right before it was announced in the news, there might be something in it for you.

Stay safe, and stay tuned for the updates!