Business premises in 5 Pahang districts to close from 7pm till 7am
The districts affected are Kuantan, Pekan, Jerantut, Bentong and Temerloh.
KUANTAN: All business premises in the districts of Kuantan, Pekan, Jerantut, Bentong and Temerloh will not be allowed to operate from 7pm to 7am effective this Saturday.
Pahang Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said the directive was made to help curb the spread of Covid-19 following positive cases in the districts.
“Enforcement will be carried out by local authorities in these districts and we hope everyone affected will adhere to the directive,” he told a press conference at Wisma Sri Pahang today.
The directive involves all business premises, including restaurants, which are banned from selling food (including drive-through or take-aways), and petrol stations.
All 24-hour convenience stores, including 7-Eleven, have also been ordered to cease operations during that period.
Wan Rosdy confirmed that there are 32 Covid-19 cases in Pahang.
Meanwhile, he said that the annual two-day Indian religious festival of Panguni Uthiram, scheduled to be held from April 6 at the Sri Marathandavar Aalayam temple in Sungai Jerik, Maran, near here had also been cancelled to prevent the virus from spreading.
He said the decision was made after a meeting with the temple’s management. Maran district police chief Norzamri Abd Rahman also attended the meeting.
In a separate development, Pahang police chief Abd Jalil Hassan denied the police had issued a public notice that included Raub as one of the districts affected by the 7pm-7am operating hours closure.
This came after a picture of the fake notice, with the police and Raub district council logos on it, went viral on social media.
Meanwhile, the Pahang government has announced that approval for all Muslim marriage applications in the state will be temporarily halted during the movement control order period.
Pahang state secretary Sallehuddin Ishak also suggested that couples delay their wedding ceremonies that had been authorised before the MCO came into effect.
However, he said couples who wished to go forward with their wedding ceremonies will need to obtain permits from their respective district police chiefs in the form of a movement control exemption permit, besides meeting other specific requirements.
“Solemnisation ceremonies can only be held in private premises and not in public areas, including mosques or suraus, with a shorter duration of not more than 20 minutes.
“They are also required to use hand sanitisers before and after the ceremony. Those present must register their names, current addresses and telephone numbers with the wali hakim (guardian) or the marriage official (jurunikah),” he said in a press statement today.
Sallehuddin said the number of people attending the ceremony also needs to be minimised, with not more than 10 people allowed to participate in the ceremony, including the bride, the groom, marriage official, the wali and two witnesses.
Should the couple fail to comply with this requirement, the marriage official or the wali hakim has the right to postpone the ceremony, he said.
Meanwhile, he added that all matters relating to marriage, divorce and rujuk applications are also halted until March 31, except those that can be done online.
“Besides this, all pre-wedding courses in Pahang have been postponed until further notice.”
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