Ismail Sabri: Stern action to be taken against MCO violators, no more advice or warnings

PETALING JAYA: The police will no longer give advice and issue warnings to those who violate the recovery movement control order (MCO) but will take stern action against them, says Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The Defence Minister said that instances of people violating the recovery MCO have increased recently.

“Many people seem to assume that there are no laws in place, as if the MCO has ended, ” he said during a press conference on Tuesday (July 21).

“The police have made a decision that there will be no more warnings and advice. They will take stern action on anyone who violates the MCO, ” he added.

The police detained 80 individuals on Monday for violating the MCO – out of which 20 were remanded, four released on police bail, and another 56 were issued compounds.

He said that 37 people were detained for activities at pubs or nightclubs while 43 were detained for activities that made it difficult for social distancing measures to be observed.

Ismail also said that nightclubs were still in the negative list of activities allowed under the recovery MCO and added that the local authorities would increase enforcement activities on nightclubs, including suspending their licences.

“The government hopes the public will keep on being the eyes and ears for the authorities in reporting any instances where the SOP has been violated, ” he said.

The number of Covid-19 cases detected in the country has increased to double digits in the past few days, after a long spell where only single digits were recorded.

This has sparked fears that there might be another wave of the virus in the country.