Ismail Sabri: Not an offence to sit beside or behind driver in a vehicle during conditional MCO

PETALING JAYA: It is not an offence to sit beside or behind the driver in a vehicle during the conditional movement control order (MCO), says Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

"It is also not compulsory to wear masks when people from the same household are travelling in cars," he further clarified.

The Defence Minister said that a viral video claiming that a man was fined for allowing his wife to sit beside him in a car was ill-intended to tarnish the image of the police.

Ismail said the police had actually issued the summonses because the man was using his mobile phone while driving.

"It was not because he allowed his wife to sit beside him in the car," he said.

Ismail said this in response to a video clip circulating on social media, claiming that the man was fined for allowing his wife to sit in the front passenger seat.

Ismail said he had called a high-ranking officer at Bukit Aman to verify the allegation.

He also shot down another video, claiming that Kuala Lumpur City Hall officers had rudely reprimanded a hawker.

"The Federal Territories Minister has confirmed that it was a 2015 video taken in Selangor, and not in Kuala Lumpur," he said.

Ismail warned that action would be taken against those creating and spreading such fake news.