PUTRAJAYA – The Home Ministry will increase the number of personnel of its inspection and monitoring teams during the current movement control order (MCO 3.0) to enhance compliance to Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) at factories and business premises.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the team currently consists of 19,716 personnel from the Royal Malaysia Police, the Immigration Department, the Prisons Department, the People’s Volunteers Corp (Rela) and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, adding it had conducted 48,770 inspections on factories and business premises since Monday.
“The ministry is targeting to increase the percentage of inspections on the level of compliance with SOPs in the sector,” he said at a press conference on SOP compliance during the lockdown, here today.
On Monday, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a total of 1,328 workplace clusters had been detected, adding enhancements of workplace SOPs should be implemented to address the situation.
Hamzah said the ministry had also detected employers or factories that had provided inaccurate information when applying for a letter to operate during the MCO 3.0 through the International Trade and Industry Ministry’s Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) 3.0, adding that offenders could be fined up to RM10,000 under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).
On enforcement operations to ensure SOP compliance, Hamzah said the police had issued 14,539 compounds and detained 767 individuals for various SOP violations from the start of lockdown until yesterday.
The police also mounted 132 roadblocks on small roads used by motorists as alternative routes to cross states and districts.
“We will ensure that the routes remained closed during the total lockdown period. Before there was no Waze application, now Waze can show motorists smaller roads to avoid roadblocks,” he said. – Bernama, June 18, 2021
