No last minute MCO 3.0 in Klang Valley please - MP

 

Putrajaya has been urged not to enforce another round of the movement control order (MCO) in the Klang Valley without ensuring that the rules are clear.

Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming said there has been intense speculation that "MCO 3.0" will be applied in the Klang Valley next week because of the rise in new Covid-19 cases in the area.

If the MCO is hurriedly announced, he said, many people may end up being fined RM10,000 for violating standard operating procedures (SOPs) they did not know about because the rules have not been confirmed. 

"For example, how many people can sit in a car during MCO 3.0? One, two or three?" asked Ong in a statement today. 

The DAP lawmaker said a third MCO in the Klang Valley would be highly disruptive because it is home to 10 million people.

The National Security Council, he said, should already have a system in place to provide residents with advance warning of the rules before an MCO is announced.

"I urge the ministers in charge to not announce another MCO in the Klang Valley at the last minute and without confirming the rules," he added.

New Covid-19 cases in the Klang Valley have mostly been in the four figures since April 23.

Currently, Kelantan and five of 12 districts in Kedah are under MCO. Generally, MCO bars interdistrict travel, bans social or religious events and mandates school closures, among others.

Ong said that should a third MCO in the Klang Valley be necessary, it would demonstrate the failure of the government's goal to control the pandemic through an emergency.

"It is high time that Parliament is reconvened so that policies regarding the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic can be discussed openly and the ministers in charge of various aspects of relevant policies can be questioned by the opposition as well as the backbenchers.

"The rising Covid-19 numbers, the need to announce another MCO and the continued suspension of Parliament show that this is indeed a failed government," he added. - Mkini