By Prior Beharry
ATTORNEY General Faris Al-Rawi issues an unreserved apology for not wearing a mask at a private function that was carried on social media last week.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Saturday said he was disappointed with Al-Rawi who appeared on Vibes with Voicey – an Instagram live game show of soca star Voice that was aired last Thursday.
Many social media commentators have also criticised Al-Rawi with Opposition Senator Wade Mark calling for him to be fired.
Speaking at the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) weekly press conference on Sunday, Mark said the disappointment expressed by Dr Rowley was not good enough.
He said, “Disappointment is totally inadequate. Disappointment is totally unacceptable. Disappointment is indefensible and inexcusable. We call on the prime minister to go beyond disappointment and fire Faris Al-Rawi as Attorney General.”
Watch: Opposition on Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi not wearing a mask…
Mark described Al-Rawi as a law maker in the day and law breaker in the night.
He said, “We are calling on the prime minster not to express disappointment but to fire his attorney general for breaking the law.
“Every time Faris Al-Rawi does not wear a mask, it takes us longer to reopen our economy.”
Mark also called upon Police Commissioner Gary Griffith to arrest Al-Rawi for breaking the law.
He said any citizen who is caught without a mask by the police would be charged and fined $1,000.
Mark said, “We ask the Commissioner of Police to go after Faris Al-Rawi… Fine him, sanction him, jail him.”
Mandatory mask wearing in public came became law on August 31, 2020 as one of the measures used to the fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
But in a statement on Sunday, Al-Rawi said he has noted the comments on his attendance at a charity event held in a private residence with less than ten people present in the room and which was live streamed.
He said his participation was intended to bring relief in this time of Covid-19 fatigue.
Al-Rawi said:
Even though participants took temperatures and sanitised, upon reflection it would certainly have been more prudent to wear masks in certain of the settings so as to encourage the audience that tuned in to keep the fight against Covid alive whilst they had a proper laugh at people like me who are usually confined to a suit and tie in serious, often seen as boring talk.
Sometimes the lines on mask wearing get blurred in private settings, at home functions, at home weddings, at restaurants and even in playing in a small football side for health and release.
Hairs can be split and justifications can be given as to things being taken out of context and of being fed up of being hounded. This is not an occasions for any of that!
Quite simply and in all the circumstances I am renewed in giving my personal redoubled commitment to do better by being seen to adopt best practices.
I fully support the Honourable PM’s reflections on this issue and especially his expressed view that each of us have a part to play in fighting Covid.
I’m certainly very far from any perfection and have a bunch of big fat ugly mistakes which I embrace openly.
Even though no law was broken I should have done better and unreservedly apologise!
I am very happy to have supported and to continue to support the excellent entrepreneurial hard work of our amazing stars in Voice and Penny who continue to find far reaching relevance to a very real and vibezy T&T.
The AG has apologised and I for one accept his apology without reservation. On the other hand, I couldn’t even bear to look at Wade marks comments because most of his contributions are incoherent and tantamount to “talking loud but saying nothing”. Frankly, when I hear his voice, I immediately reach for a face mask and earplugs so I don’t have to see or hear that man.