PETALING JAYA: The government will discuss its next steps regarding the second movement control order in a special meeting chaired by prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin tomorrow.
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However, stricter enforcement measures and higher fines for companies are already on the cards.
Senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the National Security Council will make a decision on MCO 2.0 after the meeting, based on the current Covid-19 developments in the country.
“We will discuss and listen to the report from the health ministry,” he told a press conference.
Ismail also announced that from Feb 4 onwards, authorities would take strict action without compromise against those who violate the standard operating procedures.
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“The number of cases has been rising, we know some of these involve factories and construction sites, which the government has been focusing on, but the public must continue to obey the law,” he said.
He added that the penalties for compounds would also increase, but said this would depend on the emergency ordinance and changes to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1998 (Act 342).
Ismail explained that the Act currently only allowed a maximum penalty of RM1,000 to be issued on any company, citing previous criticism over the same fine of RM1,000 being imposed against mulitbillion-ringgit glove making companies for violating health SOPs.
However, he said a specific announcement will only be made later on, either by the police, health ministry or National Security Council.
Ismail also said any individuals who were unhappy with their RM1,000 compounds were welcome to challenge the fine in court.- FMT