Ex-deputy minister hits out at 3 ‘stupid’ MCO rules

 

Ong Kian Ming says new SOPs governing eateries, public transportation and civil servants will inconvenience the public rather than curb the pandemic.

PETALING JAYA: A former deputy minister has criticised three “stupid” policies under the latest movement restrictions, saying they will not only fail to curb the spread of Covid-19, but also inconvenience the public.

Ong Kian Ming said the tightening of the third movement control order made no sense to him and the public at large.

Limiting the operating hours of businesses, including eateries till 8pm, he said, would lead to more people crowding restaurants for their takeaways at a certain time.

It would also endanger the lives of food delivery riders who would rush to fulfil their final orders.

“Why not extend the operating hours of restaurants for the take-out option until 10pm so that such a rush does not occur just before 8pm? Pardon my language, this is a really stupid policy or SOP,” the DAP MP said in a Facebook post.

Secondly, the former deputy international trade and industry minister said, reducing the capacity of public transportation by 50% will also lead to bigger crowds waiting for public transport.

This will increase the probability of the virus spreading especially in instances where social distancing is not observed.

Thirdly, Ong said, reducing the civil service capacity to just 20% will likely increase the queues and waiting in line for those who have no choice but to go to government offices to process documents, pay fees and other government-related transactions.

This is especially if they do not have the capacity to do all of these things online, he said.

“Please don’t blame the public for being frustrated if the policies or standard operating procedures announced by certain ministers are seen as ‘stupid’,” he said.

Ong was responding to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that he did not mind taking verbal abuse from the public as long as they are willing to play their part to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Muhyiddin said the people can blame the government but the responsibility to bring the pandemic under control does not rest with the government alone.

Ong said: “I’m not sure if the PM was trying to score sympathy points with the public but I don’t think this is an appropriate public response to the increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases in Malaysia.” - FMT