Following the announcement of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on June 7, Malaysia’s Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) ending on June 9 will be substituted by Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) starting from June 10 to August 31, 2020.
The new Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 7) Regulations 2020 (PU(A) 180/2020) which takes effect on June 10 has come out with the necessary measures on movement, gathering and prohibited activities during the period of RMCO.
Control of movement
Movement from one infected local area and to another infected local area and movement within the infected local area is generally allowed. Under the PU(A) 181/2020, there is no restriction of movement between or within any local infected areas except in areas under enhanced movement control by the authorities.
Enhanced movement control order (EMCO) were first introduced by the authorities where effective March 27, 2020, specific locations were subjected to a stricter order for 14 days if a large cluster was detected within the area in order for the government to conduct a thorough Covid-19 test towards all residents, and to curb the spread of the virus out of the areas.
Where an area is placed under enhanced movement control order, no person would be allowed to enter or exit the area except a person providing medical services. Where the person is not a person providing medical service, permission from an authorised officer needs to be obtained[1].
As to how many people can a private vehicle carry during the RMCO and must all the people in the car comes from the same house, the Senior Minister in his daily briefing had said that carpooling with different passengers from different households is allowed and the number of passengers will be limited to the capacity of the vehicle[2]. However, there has been another news report stipulating that the previous requirement that passengers must be from the same house with the driver is still in place[3]. This could be in view of the provision in PU(A) 181/2020 that any direction of the Director-General issued under the PU(A) 147/2020 shall be deemed to be made under the PU(A) 180/2020 and remain in force until revoked.[4]
Should the announcement of the Senior Minister on private vehicle stands, the regulations would need to be amended accordingly to reflect the accurate measure adopted by the government.
Control of movement within the State of Sarawak
Unlike the previous provision in the Prevention and Control of Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 6) Regulations 2020 (PU(A) 147/2020) where no one is allowed to move within the infected local areas in Sarawak, movement within and between infected local areas is now allowed in the State of Sarawak under PU(A) 181/2020, just like any other infected local areas in Malaysia.
Prohibited activities
The Schedule to the PU(A) 181/2020 lists down prohibited activities as follows:
- Organizing sports event and tournament
- Contact sports
- Water theme park and water park activities
- Swimming pool activities (other than swimming pool activities in a swimming pool in a private residence and in a swimming pool for private use in accommodation premises under the Tourism Industry Act 1992) except for the training of national athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020
- Outbound tour activities by a citizen and inbound tour activities involving foreign tourists entering Malaysia
- Activities in karaoke centers, children’s playground in shopping malls and family entertainment centres
- Activities in pubs and night clubs, except restaurant business in pubs and night clubs
- Fitting of clothes, using fitting rooms in clothes stores, trying on fashion accessories in stores and providing cosmetic testers in stores
- Reflexology and massage activities in a health and beauty establishment
- Cruise ship activities
- Any activity with many people in attendance at a place making it difficult to carry out social distancing and to comply with the directions of the Director-General.
Procession and gathering
The provision on procession and gathering is now separated under the PU(A) 181/2020 where procession of any kind is still prohibited while gathering at any place of worship is allowed. Gathering at any place of worship includes congregation to perform prayers subject to compliance with directions of the Director-General.[5]
Unlike the previous PU(A) 147/2020 which specifically allows gathering for the purpose of celebrate Hari Raya Puasa, Pesta Keamatan and Gawai Dayak Day[6], the new PU(A) 181/2020 did not specifically stipulate any religious activities. From the reading of the provision, it can be construed that gathering at places of worship is not limited for the purpose of worship only but would include celebration of religious festivities such as the Hari Raya Aidiladha subject to the directions of the Director General.
Public transport
Under the RMCO, the operation of public transport is allowed at full capacity under PU(A) 181/2020 subject to the adherence to the standard operating procedure issued by the relevant authorities. Therefore, all public transport services including flights and express buses, e-hailing service and private vehicles are now allowed to operate without any time limit.
The standard operating procedures for public transport services would still require drivers and passengers to wear face masks and have their body temperature recorded before boarding and to use hand sanitizer. Registration before boarding the public transport is also required either manually or through the MySejahtera app for contact tracing purposes.
As to social distancing, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has clarified the confusion[7] after Rapid Rail CEO Abdul Hadi Amran earlier stated that train operations will return to normal and passengers would no longer need to observe social distancing in the train.[8]
Health examination upon arrival in Malaysia
Any citizen, permanent resident of Malaysia, expatriate or diplomatic corporation or any other foreigner entering Malaysia from overseas would be required to undergo Covid-19 test upon arrival in Malaysia before proceeding for immigration clearance at any point of entry.[9]
If the individuals are required to undergo self-quarantine at home, they must wear a wristband to be provided by the authorities. Countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong, India and Bulgaria had implemented the electronic wristband for all passengers who arrived in the country’s airport. The wristband which is connected to a smartphone app will help to ensure people stay at home because it will alert the authorities if the wearer attempts to remove the wristband.
Contravention of any provisions of regulations
Contravention of any provision of these Regulations or any direction of the Director General or an authorized officer is an offence, no matter whether committed by an individual or a company.
Where the wrongdoer is an individual, he/she shall be liable to a fine not more than RM1,000 or to imprisonment for a term of up to six months or both. Where the offence is committed by a corporation, the director, compliance officer, partner, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the corporation may be charged severally or jointly with the corporation in the same proceedings with that corporation. Corporation here includes a company, limited liability partnership, firm, society.
If the corporation is found guilty of the offence, the director, compliance officer, partner, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the corporation would also be deemed guilty of the offence and be liable to the same punishment as an individual. If the officer could prove the offence was committed without his knowledge and/or the offence was committed without his consent where he had taken all reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.[10]
Conclusion
The recovery period that we are currently in refers to a situation where injury caused is in the process of healing but not healed yet. Recovery is a period where injury might again be caused by lack of care and self-discipline, Similar to the situation where a patient recovering from a cold, if he eats cold food during the recovery process, he will surely fall sick again. Therefore, recovery period is a time where extra attention and self-discipline is needed to ensure full healing.
No doubt that the above measures under the latest regulations concerning Covid-19 gives more leeway to movement and the gradual reopening of public life but they can only be successfully implemented with full compliance with the standard operating procedures on all relevant economic and social sectors. The responsibility to remain vigilant remains with us.
References
[1] Regulation 4(2), Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 7) Regulations 2020 (PU(A) 181/2020)
[2] Public transport given green light for full capacity once more, FMT, June 11, 2020
[3] Self-discipline, SOP compliance important to free Malaysia from Covid-10, The Sun Daily, June 11, 2020
[4] Regulation 12, Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 7) Regulations 2020 (PU(A) 181/2020)
[5] Regulations 5 and 6, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 7) Regulations 2020 [PU(A) 181/2020]
[6] Regulation 7(2), Prevention of Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 6) Regulations 2020 [PU(A) 147/2020]
[7] Public transport given green light for full capacity once more, FMT, June 11, 2020
[8] No more social distancing on RapidKL trains, FMT, June 9, 2020
[9] Regulation 8, Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 7) Regulations 2020 [PU(A) 181/2020]
[10] Regulation 11(2)(b), Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within Infected Local Areas) (No. 7) Regulations 2020 [PU(A) 181/2020]
Penning Perceptions 