PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi apologised for not wearing a mask while on a charity event that was streamed live on social media last week, as the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) called for him to be charged and fired.
In a statement posted to his Facebook page on Sunday, Al-Rawi said the ‘Vibes with Voicey’ weekly show was held in a private residence with fewer than 10 people in the room and insisted there was no breach in regulations, but he admitted that he should have worn the mask.
“Even though participants took temperatures and sanitised, upon reflection, it would certainly have been more prudent to wear masks in that setting. It would’ve helped encourage the audience tuned in to keep the fight against COVID-19 alive,” he said
“I am renewed in giving my personal redoubled commitment to do better by being seen to adopt best practices. I’m certainly very far from any perfection and have made numerous mistakes which I embrace openly. Even though no law was broken I should have acted better, and unreservedly apologise.”
Al-Rawi appeared last Thursday on the show, hosted by soca artiste Aaron ‘Voice’ St Louis and radio personality Jared Penny, along with North East Division Superintendent Roger Alexander, celebrity bodyguard Kevin ‘Johnny Bravo’ Da Costa and media personality Ancil ‘Blaze’ Isaac. None of them wore masks.
On Saturday, during the Ministry of Health COVID-19 media briefing, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said he was disappointed that the Attorney General had appeared on the show without a mask, as he stressed that no official was exempt from following the public health regulations.
However, the UNC said that “disappointment” was not enough and called for Al-Rawi to be sacked, noting that it was he who had taken the mask-wearing legislation to the Parliament in August last year. (CMC)
