Lawmakers have criticised Putrajaya's handling of the second movement control order (MCO 2.0) after Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said details on the standard operating procedure (SOP) will only come seven hours before it is implemented.
The MCO 2.0 is set to come into effect at midnight of Jan 13. However, Ismail said he will only announce details of the SOP tomorrow (Jan 12) during his regular briefing at 5pm.
Subang MP Wong Chen said he had expected the government to release details within hours after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the MCO 2.0 at 6pm today.
"It appears now that the details will only appear tomorrow. Can't the Bersatu prime minister coordinate properly with the Umno minister?" he said in a Facebook post.
Wong said businesses would have very little time to prepare.
Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching took to Facebook as well, saying that she understood the need for the MCO 2.0 but questioned why the government is leaving it to the last minute to release details.
"The MCO will come into effect at midnight on Jan 13. Why wait until 5pm on Jan 12 to announce the relevant SOPs?
"Why does the government always fail to learn from past mistakes?" she said.
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil also commented on the situation, saying that the government cannot afford the delay.
"The International Trade and Industry Ministry and Education Ministry should make their announcements this very night, they shouldn't wait," he said on Facebook.
The Education Ministry did eventually release a statement tonight, stating that it will issue special letters to students facing examinations to attend school while the rest were asked to stay home for virtual learning.
However, at the time of writing, no instructions have been issued by the International Trade and Industry Ministry.
The National Security Council (NSC) has also not yet released the general SOPs.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said there had been confusion since Friday amid speculations that Muhyiddin would bring back the MCO.
"Without clarification from the International Trade and Industry Ministry, employers and workers, once again, are not given enough time to prepare for the MCO," he said in a statement today.
He noted that the MCO will put further strain on vulnerable communities and urged the government to come up with another aid package which he estimated should be around RM500 million.
Anwar also called on Putrajaya to be more transparent with information on the location of Covid-19 outbreaks. - Mkini
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