KUCHING: Apart from increasing fines for violators of standard operating procedures (SOP), the government has been asked to also look into sustainable solutions to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Sarawak Community Policing Association (SCPA) chairman Datuk Seri Victor Hii noted that the Emergency Ordinance 2021 (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) states that any individual who breaches the various movement control order (MCO) regulations would face fines up to RM10,000 and RM50,000 for companies, and by doing so is a good move to break the chain of infection.
“This move will empower everyone to strictly follow the SOPs. However, the government needs to look into viable and sustainable solutions to curb the public, which may include educating the public,” he said today (March 2).
He said in New Zealand, for instance, the government has implemented a Covid-19 alert system comprising Level 1 – Prepare, Level 2 – Reduce, Level 3 – Restrict and Level 4 – Lockdown.
“Each level consists of its own risk management and range of measures to be applied locally and nationally.
“The New Zealand system is similar to the Malaysian system but New Zealand has been very fast in its response to the threat and proactive in educating the masses on the dangers of the virus and the effectiveness of intervention measures in New Zealand and other countries,” he said.
He added that the SOPs in New Zealand are for everyone without exception.
“Therefore, SCPA proposes that the government effectively communicate to the masses the requirements for each alert level with a view to reducing the impact of the pandemic on the health of the economy.
“Every enforcement officer (EO) is briefed on the SOPs so that the EO and the citizens can jointly fight the spread of Covid-19 virus. While companies need to educate their team on how to follow the SOPs to prevent being infected by the virus,” he said.
Hii added that those who violated the SOPs are those who are not aware of them.
“We also felt that for minor offenders, a court action to order them to do community work will be more effective to make them compliant.
“A heavy fine may not solve the problem as it will affect the livelihood of the offender those close to the person. For example, we all know when one has committed a murder, the sentence is death, but there are still murders in society,” he said.
