MP: Instil greater awareness, not stiffer penalties to deal with Covid-19

 

COVID-19 | Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah said the government should be instilling greater awareness on precise guidelines for the movement control order (MCO), instead of imposing stiffer penalties on those flouting the rules.

This came after Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today that the government may amend the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1998 to increase compound fines against those violating the standard operating procedures (SOP).

"The issue is not in having heavier penalties. Awareness and precise guidelines are still lacking at all levels," she said in a statement today.

Maria added that ministers must first stop flouting the SOP as it will only bring "great disrepute" to the SOP when these top officials are not punished for their violation.

Secondly, the government should aggressively campaign on all platforms to raise awareness on the guidelines among the rakyat, she said. 

"Since the Special Affairs Department (Jasa) has RM45 million, it is apt for this body to carry out its roles and responsibilities.

"Like what the communications and multimedia minister had said, it is meant to serve community purposes, then it is even more appropriate to use Jasa for the intensive campaign," she said.

Jasa, which was rebranded as the Community Communications Department (J-Kom), had been revived and was given a RM45 million allocation under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government's Budget 2021.

Maria also suggested that the government release specific data on the daily Covid-19 cases, including the data for districts and towns.

She added that sharing this information on a consistent basis will not undermine the authority of the Health Ministry or the National Security Council (NSC), but it will help with contact tracing and isolation.

Lastly, Maria said there must be clear guidelines on what the SOP entails as it currently seems to be at the discretion of the police.

She gave the example of cases where fines were issued by the police for being on the streets after 10pm, yet nowhere was a curfew or time restraint announced as part of the SOP.

"Clear guidelines (on things) such as time limit, what shops or industries can open, when to wear and not wear masks, especially in restaurants and inside offices.

"These are the information required... unfortunately, clarity is not part of the equation," Maria added. - Mkini