New political party Muda today called on the government to hold its proposal to amend anti-pandemic law Act 342, saying that it was rushed and "unreasonable".
In a statement, Muda pro-tem committee criticised the heavy punishment proposed by the Health Ministry and a last-minute change it made to the bill.
"The amendment to Act 342 is unreasonable. It neglects the people's wellbeing. According to the amendment, individuals who fail to follow health standard operating procedures can be fined up to a maximum of RM100,000 and a jail term not exceeding seven years. This was before it was changed at the last minute to RM5,000 in fine and jail term not exceeding three years.
"This shows the amendment to Act 342 was drafted in a hurry and made without any sense of responsibility to the rakyat.
"Members of Parliament also got to know about the amendment in more detail on Dec 13," the party said.
The Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act, or better known as Act 342, currently gives the health director-general the power to impose a maximum of RM1,000 fine against individuals who flout SOP such as failure to wear a face mask in a public place.
Muda also raised its concern over how Act 342 would be enforced.
"We are worried that Act 342 would be enforced in double standards - treating differently the common people and ministers as what had been practised by the government all this while," it claimed.
"Thus, Muda would like to urge the government to hold the amendment bill until they take into account the views of MPs, Malaysia Medical Association, business communities, and the Bar Council before re-drafting the amendment bill."
The party said Putrajaya should be more careful before tabling the proposal in Parliament, given that it is the most important law in the country's fight against Covid-19. -Mkini
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