According to Senior Minister Ismail Sabri, as of April 22, 17,735 individuals have been arrested for violations of the movement control order since it begun on March 18.
Under the three regulations issued for the MCO, a person who contravenes the MCO may be liable for a fine up to RM1,000, imprisonment of up to six months or both.
Many of those arrested have been charged in court, and a great number have pleaded guilty and been sentenced. The sentences meted out by the courts range from fines to imprisonment.
The government has made it clear that for Phase 3 of the MCO, the authorities will no longer be issuing compound notices and instead be arresting and remanding the violators. It was also reported that more detention centres have been gazetted as prisons to house offenders.
Many Malaysians are in support of penal action against MCO offenders although some may find that some of the sentences are excessive. In general, however, the people understand that for this MCO to be effective, strict compliance with the MCO is needed.
Yet, it has emerged that certain politicians from the ruling coalition Perikatan Nasional have not complied with the MCO. A minister summoned a couple of influencers to her office to record a TikTok video. The Terengganu menteri besar uploaded onto social media his visit to another elected representative to discuss a dispute between their respective parties.
Youth and Sports deputy minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal visited his party’s secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin to discuss Bersatu issues.
The most high profile of the alleged violations would be when Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali together with Perak executive councillor Razman Zakaria and some others gathered for a kenduri at a tahfiz.
On social media, many have compared this to news report of eight other individuals who breached the MCO for having a kenduri and who were charged in court. The eight individuals were fined RM1,000 each.
To be clear, there is no issue if ministers, deputy ministers and elected representatives move around for official reasons or to provide aid for the needy. These are part and parcel of their overall responsibilities.
What is being questioned is the need for these VIPs to visit each other, discuss party issues and other non-essential or urgent matters.
Many are saying that there seem to be two sets of laws; one for the rakyat and another for VIPs. When the rakyat violate the MCO, swift action will be taken. Not so for these VIPs, they say.
A few days ago, daughter of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was roundly criticised for visiting a minister and deputy minister during the MCO. She was reported to have challenged those who criticised her to lodge a police report. At the time of writing, no action appears to have been taken against her.
This perception of double standards cannot be allowed to fester. We do not know if the MCO will be extended further, but to ensure that there will be continued compliance of the MCO, the people must have faith that there is equality before the law, an important element in the rule of law.
If people lose faith in the rule of law, we might see even more non-compliance with the MCO. Or any other law for that matter.
SYAHREDZAN JOHAN is a civil liberties lawyer and political secretary to Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang. - Mkini
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