NGO: RM10,000 compound for MCO violations excessive and disproportionate despite guidelines

WE refer to the press conference by the de facto law minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, on March 17 2021 where he attempted to clarify the confusion regarding the RM10,000 compound for breaches of standard operating procedures (SOP) outlined in the Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021.

We must first point out that it is disingenuous for the minister to impute that the outcry regarding the compound as some sort of confusion by the public – the outcry was entirely justified as the Ordinance when it was first gazetted on Feb 25,2021 made no distinction between the type of offences and the appropriate compounds that will be imposed, leaving the matter entirely at the behest of the enforcement authorities.