KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — Khairy Jamaluddin today urged the police to drop investigations against CodeBlue editor-in-chief Boo Su-Lyn over a news report she wrote about Covid-19 cases at a vaccination site (PPV) in Selangor.
The coordinating minister of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) agreed with Tuaran MP Wilfred Madius Tangau in Parliament that it is unnecessary for action to be taken against anyone writing for the improvement of PPVs.
Tangau, who is former Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, raised the police case over CodeBlue’s July 18 report titled “Volunteers Claim Selangor PPV Hid Covid-19 Cases, No Mass Testing Or SOP”, pointing out that the article was written to advocate the improvement of PPVs.
“Actually, what was pointed out was good. After this, all PPVs were upgraded and the like as a result of this report,” Tangau said when debating Khairy’s winding-up speech in the Dewan Rakyat.
Khairy replied that he had been informed about the police investigation.
“Although the decision to investigate or to prosecute is outside my jurisdiction, in spirit, I agree with Yang Berhormat that it is not necessary to take action against anyone who writes reports aimed at improving PPVs,” Khairy said in the Dewan Rakyat.
“I will discuss with the relevant bodies and authorities to let this go, since the report was written in the spirit of improving our PICK.”
Boo was called by police to record her statement at the Shah Alam district police headquarters on July 26 under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, as well as Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Boo’s article on the Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC) mega PPV in Shah Alam, Selangor, revealed at least four known Covid-19 cases among workers at the vaccination centre, according to accounts from volunteers who complained about the PPV management allegedly not informing them about the infections, as well as the lack of guidelines in dealing with coronavirus cases in the facility, among other issues.
The article was written as a matter of public interest to highlight workplace safety issues at vaccination centres, so that standard operating procedures (SOPs) could be improved to better protect both frontliners and the public from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) confirmed in a statement the next day on July 19 that seven Covid-19 cases were detected among SCCC PPV workers on July 11.
However, upon a police complaint filed by the SCCC PPV management, Boo was called by police to record her statement at the Shah Alam district police headquarters on July 26.
The investigation is under Section 505 of the Penal Code which deals with statements said to cause alarm to the public, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act pertains to the “improper use of network facilities or network service”.
