DAP will not support Bill to raise Covid-19 fines, says Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR: Amendments to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342), which seeks to raise Covid-19 fines to up to RM10,000 for individuals and RM1mil for business entities, will not be supported by DAP.

Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the proposed amendments, which would see the maximum compound for individuals increasing to RM10,000 from RM1,000 currently, would further burden the public and businesses that are already reeling from the pandemic.

Lim (PH-Bagan) said the people should not be punished for flouting Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) when ministers themselves have been known to violate the laws.

He also called out Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who was recently issued a compound of RM1,000 for flouting Covid-19 health protocols during a political event in Johor, saying that even Hishammuddin, who chairs the Covid-19 Quartet Ministerial Meetings, could not adhere to the SOPs.

“For him, a RM1,000 fine has no impact at all.

“But for the rakyat, this is too high,” Lim told the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 1).

The second reading of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Bill 2021 was tabled for its first reading in the Dewan Rakyat in December last year.