KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian deputy minister is facing calls for his resignation following a revelation that he is on a 55-day leave to be with his family in New Zealand from end-December.
The incident is seen as yet another example of double standards involving politicians from the Perikatan Nasional government.
Deputy Federal Territories (FT) minister Edmund Santhara Kumar's absence is being criticised at a time when front-liners are generally banned from taking leave to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
"An MP who abandons his parliamentary constituency when the people are suffering from disasters such as fire, floods and the Covid-19 pandemic should immediately quit his position," said opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) lawmaker P. Prabakaran.