The government has decided to tighten the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia. The SOP were initially eased during the Recovery phase of the order, also known as RMCO, which was implemented earlier in June, 2020.
The decision was agreed upon at the Special Ministerial Meeting on the implementation of the MCO, and was announced by senior minister (security cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob during a media briefing held earlier. The minister explained that the upcoming change on the SOP was made following concerns over the rise of COVID-19 cases in the past week.
“The technical committee will meet tomorrow to work on the finer details of the SOP and table it at the ministerial meeting on Monday,” said Ismail Sabri during the briefing. He added that the SOP on the upcoming Hari Raya Aidiladha would be finalised and announced on Monday as well.
“We are worried about (COVID-19) infections during Raya Haji. If during Aidilfitri we had set a limit of no more than 20 guests, then for Aidiladha we will also set a limit.”
“The police will monitor SOP compliance during the Aidiladha celebration, just like during Aidilfitri. If there is any SOP violation, arrests and action will be carried out on the spot,” he explained.
The tightening of the SOP during RMCO is inevitable, given the recent outcome in Malaysia. Just earlier this week, the senior minister had announced that face masks will be mandatory for those who are taking public transportation and those visiting highly populated locations.
The RMCO is slated to end on 31 August 2020, provided that the situation improves by that time. As usual, we would like to remind everyone to adhere to the SOP, always wear a mask when you’re going out, and if you have no valid reason to be elsewhere – please stay home.
(Source: Bernama / RTM [YouTube])
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