KUALA LUMPUR – The International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) does not decide which economic sector is deemed essential or approve letters to businesses to remain open during lockdown, said Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
He said the approval letters via the Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) 3.0 system are only given out after the relevant ministries provide Miti with a confirmation.
He added that 15 ministries have been using CIMS 3.0 to facilitate application reviews for sectors under their purview.
Miti, in a tweet, shared a list of ministries and government agencies collaborating via CIMS 3.0.
Azmin said companies approved will be able to print their letters after receiving the nod from the respective ministries.
“However, there are also some ministries, such as (the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry) that have their own permit approval system.
“The Transport Ministry also uses its own system called SMILE (Logistics Industry Information System) for the same purpose.”
He added that the integrated system has proven to be more effective for target groups.
While some 586,308 companies with 10.2 million employees have registered with CIMS 3.0, only 128,150 or 21.8% have received their approval letters.
He said Miti is open to any form of complaint or criticism.
“Miti, through its enforcement unit together with the cooperation of other enforcement agencies, will continue to monitor and control the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for MCO 3.0.”
In another tweet, Miti said the ministry and other enforcement agencies are conducting spotchecks on business premises.
“There are no compromises. All companies have to comply with the SOPs.” – The Vibes, June 3, 2021