PETALING JAYA: The difference between the movement control order (MCO) and the conditional MCO is so vague that people are confused, says a medical expert, adding that the National Security Council (MKN) has to be clear on its guidelines.
It has to look no farther than New Zealand, which has divided its standard operating procedures (SOPs) into different categories to avoid any confusion, former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said.
“When the government announces that they are moving into alert level 1, 2, 3 or 4, people and businesses automatically know what they need to do.
“Here, our MCO looks like CMCO. It is creating a lot of confusion among people and businesses,” he told FMT.
Lee said that after a year of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the guidelines should be simple and clear.
“That is why they are called SOPs. They are not changed every now and then and should be clear.”
Lee said that even during the press conference yesterday, senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced that details to ease SOPs would be available on MKN’s website — but the details may not be immediately available.
“By right, while he is announcing, the details should be up for everyone to see. People should not be left guessing,” he said, adding that until today most Malaysians are still unclear on the requirements for the different MCOs.
Putrajaya has introduced the MCO, conditional MCO, recovery MCO, enhanced MCO, among others. Those found flouting SOPs are fined RM1,000.
Yesterday, the government changed its SOPs for states under MCO. Now, more than two people are allowed to sit at a table while dining in restaurants and cars are allowed to carry occupants according to their seating capacity.
Lee also raised questions on limiting capacity at a venue to 50%.
“If it is a cinema, then it is understood as it has a certain number of seats. But what about people going to Gua Tempurung, Batu Caves or a badminton court?”
In CMCO areas, tourism activities and meetings are allowed but with a limit of 50% of the venue capacity.
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