Malaysian senators who kena covid, as of 8 Feb 2021

Last we checked, the coronavirus is still running rampant in Malaysia. And despite some of them acting like they’re immune to Covid-19…

…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 corona already, and how many are still covi-rgins.

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 writing (Feb 8, 2021)..

• 4 out of 66 senators had tested positive
• 12 out of 220 MPs had tested positive (click here for the MP list)
• 15 out of 503 ADUNs had tested positive (click here for the ADUN list)

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

 

Senators – 3 INFECTED (and 1 false positive)

Here’s a little more detail about the cases, sorted by date:

Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad

Also the deputy environment and water minister, Ahmad Masrizal was among those infected after campaigning for BN in the Sabah state elections last year. While his initial test upon arrival from Sabah was negative, a second test confirmed that he was positive despite having no symptoms. Pictures later surfaced of him going around Sabah with no face mask on. He was admitted to Sungai Buloh Hospital on Oct 1, 2020, and we assume he had recovered by now.

Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri

Also the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Religious Affairs, Datuk Zulkifli had admitted that he had tested positive on Oct 5, 2020. While it was unclear where he caught it from, he was in Sabah during the state election campaigning period. He was treated at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban, and had since recovered.

Yaakob Sapari

On Jan 14, 2021, Yaakob Sapari tested positive after taking an Antigen Rapid Test Kit (RTK-Ag) test, causing a round of alarm. He later took the more-reliable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to confirm the results, which turned out negative on Jan 16. So maybe the earlier test was a false alarm, and he didn’t really get Covid, but we’re including him here just in case.

Idris Ahmad

Also vice-president for PAS, Idris Ahmad tested positive for Covid-19 around Jan 16, 2021. It is believed that he caught in Kelantan from another PAS member who had been to a PAS event in Perlis a week before. He had since recovered, and his quarantine ended on 21 Jan.

Who will be the next to get infected?

Despite the seeming difference in status, both politicians and normal people can get the coronavirus, so for them to test positive for the virus 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 covid-chan, 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!