Be warned, authorities will no longer use the soft approach of advising citizens who are still unwilling to abide by the regulated guidelines for the second phase of this MCO, that is set to go on until 14th April.
During a televised announcement made yesterday (3rd April), Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that there were still civilians travelling out of their residential areas for reasons for unnecessary reasons despite being advised otherwise by authorities, reports Sinar Harian.
Despite the glimmer of hope documented yesterday when it was announced that there were no significant spikes in Covid-19 cases within Malaysia, the minister warned citizens that this is no cause to let down your guard and start going out as and when you please, at least not until the chain of infection is broken.
If authorities were to continue using the soft approach of just verbally warning citizens, the efforts made to eliminate this viral outbreak that has robbed the lives of 50 Malaysians so far, would be useless.
4,189 individuals detained, and 1,449 sent to court in one day for disobeying MCO
To emphasise his point, Datuk Seri Ismail said that 4,189 individuals were detained yesterday and a whooping 1,449 of this alarming total have already been indicted in court for causing trouble and interfering with authorities tasked to enforce the MCO. These numbers are proof that authorities will do whatever means necessary to rid off the Covid-19 crisis because as long as the MCO is enforced, so will the economy and the rakyat’s quality of life deteriorate.
Along with this announcement, the government has taken necessary measures to form a Special Cabinet Committee to come up with strategic measures on how to safeguard the economic performance and job market of our country amidst the pandemic. The Committee will be responsible for managing the fine balance between Malaysia’s economic priorities and the effective implementation of MCO regulations while developing ways to support SME’s and job opportunities among citizens.
The Special Cabinet Committee is set to meet today (3rd April), and will hold a second meeting on Sunday before the outcome of these talks are presented to Prime Minister Tan Sri Mregulauhyiddin Yassin during the National Economic Action Council’s meeting on Monday (6th April).
If the authorities are taking this seriously, you should too!
Also read: Will MCO Be Extended? Decision To Be Made On April 10th, Says Health D-G
