Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has lamented the breakdown in physical distancing for Covid-19 at Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's 100-day report card event yesterday.
He said the organisers have been slapped with an RM1,000 compound under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act (Act 342), for failing to ensure physical distancing.
He stressed that RM1,000 is the maximum fine allowed under Act 342.
The compound limit had been raised to RM10,000 for individuals and RM50,000 for corporations during the state of emergency.
However, the emergency ordinance that raised the limit has lapsed and has been repealed.
The report card launch was in conjunction with "100 days" of Ismail's Keluarga Malaysia government.
The four-day event held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre was packed yesterday, with those attending mostly ignoring physical distancing measures meant to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In a statement today, Khairy - who also attended yesterday's event - said the lack of physical distancing was regrettable.
"Hosting an official government event such as this should have given the best example and be a benchmark for other agencies, including non-government bodies and the public; not just in terms of implementation but also in terms of SOP adherence and rules set.
"What happened was very regrettable and disappointing (especially since) the organisers previously made a commitment to ensure that the programme will be organised with tight SOP compliance with continuous observation, management and enforcement," Khairy said.
The Shared Prosperity Delivery Unit, or Sepadu, which organised the event, had defended its crowd control efforts yesterday.
Sepadu said it had outlined a strict set of SOPs based on the National Security Council's orders, but that individual compliance has been a challenge faced by every programme organiser.
Khairy warned that the Health Ministry would keep a close eye on the event, which ends on Sunday, and would not hesitate to issue further compounds against the organiser.
Meanwhile, in an effort to ease congestion at the convention centre, he said that all police and Road Transport Department (RTD) counters there would be closed immediately.
The police and RTD had set up counters offering hefty discounts for those paying their summons in conjunction with the event. - Mkini
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