KUALA LUMPUR – The management of condominiums or residential areas do not have the authority to impose fines or compounds on residents who violate standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as the use of face masks.
This followed a viral posting on social media about a one-year-old child being fined RM100 by the management of a condominium in Ampang for not wearing a face mask while in the elevator.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said only the Health Ministry (MOH) had the power to issue the compound through the police subject to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).
“So far we have not given the authority to the management of condominiums and apartments or any office to take action. The management’s authority is only limited to maintaining and managing the property.
“Hence what the management did in the Ampang condominium is wrong and cannot be done. So I hope they withdraw the RM100 compound,” he told a press conference on the development of the Movement Control Order (MCO) here today.
Besides, Ismail Sabri said the government had never issued any instructions for the MCO 2.0 that occupants sharing a vehicle must be from the same household.
Instead, he said drivers and passengers could be from different addresses as long as the number of occupants depended on the vehicle’s capacity, and it was applicable to all areas under the MCO, Conditional MCO (CMCO) and Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO).
He said so far the government has not held any discussions on the issuance of vaccine passports (to individuals who will receive the shots) or on the opening of the country’s borders which would allow people to travel abroad again.
“There is no date set for that yet, the government is still seeking feedback from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the vaccine passport.
“This is because the government does not know what vaccines are acceptable in foreign countries to allow the entry of people from this country into their country. So this matter is still too early to talk about,” he said.
He said the matter would be announced by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and the Health Ministry later.
Sending children to school do not need police permission
Ismail Sabri in a related development said parents who have to cross district or state lines to send their children to school are not required to first obtain permission from the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).
He said these parents should instead only show a letter issued by the school allowing them to do so, at the police roadblock.
“For example, if the students are returning to their hostel, the teachers could have issued them a letter, allowing them to cross district or state.”
Ismail Sabri said the matter had been discussed with the PDRM top officers and had also been informed to the police contingents nationwide.
He said the government had meanwhile received an appeal from full-time buskers to allow them to perform at restaurants and food stalls as they depended on this for a living.
“After evaluating the matter, the government now allows this group to perform at restaurants and other eateries in the MCO areas but they must adhere to the standard operating procedure (SOP) set, including wearing a face mask and ensuring physical distancing while entertaining the patrons,” he added.
lsmail Sabri said the government also allowed activities such as meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) and face-to-face meetings in the MCO areas, starting this March 5, with 25 per cent of the premises’ capacity permitted or a maximum of 250 people.
He said the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry had found that last year, revenue from the MICE industry dropped to RM2.25 billion or up to 90 per cent from RM9.25 billion in 2019, besides over 5,000 workers in this industry having lost their jobs.
On the manicure and pedicure services, the senior minister said the matter had been discussed with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and it had asked to be given time to assess the risks as the services given involved touching.
“The MOH wants to look at the matter in its entirety because if we allow manicure and pedicure or facials, we also need to consider the requests to resume operations from spas and massage centres as their services also involve touching,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri announced that the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) in Kampung Darau-Awek, Kampung Padang Baloh and Kampung Lepan Kejor, Pasir Akar in Besut, Terengganu would end on Feb 27 as scheduled after the risk assessment made found the remaining COVID-19 cases there declining.
