LANGKAWI: Police will initiate a probe against former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for allegedly breaching Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) during a Ramadan event here on Saturday.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Shariman Ashari said police would investigate the matter under Section 269 of the Penal Code and Regulation 16 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease (Measures Within Infected Local Areas Regulations 2021.
He said this followed a viral video uploaded onto a Facebook page belonging to "Najib Razak", (former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak).
The video footage showed that Dr Mahathir did not scan using the MySejahtera app and did not have his temperature checked during an event.
"Checks revealed that the incident happened on Saturday morning at Surau Raudhatul Jannah in Kuala Teriang, Langkawi. As such, police will launch a probe on the matter," he said.
Earlier this afternoon, Dr Mahathir had taken to his Facebook page to admit to the SOP breach, and apologised for the incident.
The Langkawi member of parliament said he had returned to Langkawi for several events to present aid in conjunction with Ramadan and Aidilfitri on Saturday.
He added that among them was the presentation of Raya aid to villagers at Surau Tsunami Batu Arang, Kuala Teriang in Kuah.
"I was told that during the event, I had breached the SOP by not having my temperature checked when entering the surau. This is an offence which should not have happened. I apologise for not complying with the SOP.
"I will accept whatever punishment according to the provisions of the law," he said.
According to Dr Mahathir, Covid-19 is a serious pandemic and the disease knows no bounds.
He stressed that the SOP should be adhered to by all as it could help in preventing the spread of the virus.
"We should not take this lightly, Again, I apologise for breaching the SOP," he added.