THE Malaysia Medical Association urged Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to stay within its limits after the latter announced it would conduct random checks on business premises following the relaxation of COVID-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) last week.
“As the state of Emergency declared earlier has been revoked, we understand that enforcement of the Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) can only be done by Health Ministry (MOH) officers as no other agencies has been empowered to do so.
“We don’t see a need for such heavy enforcement at this stage as the country are in the midst of transitioning into a state of normalcy,” its president Dr Koh Kar Chai said, in a statement.
Yesterday, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said that his ministry would conduct random checks on the status of employees and visitors at business premises throughout the country to stop the spread of COVID-19.
He added the measure was taken as all individuals have been allowed to enter business premises regardless of their vaccination status starting today, except for those who are tested positive and under House Surveillance Order (HSO).
“Enforcement action under Act 342 will be taken against visitors or workers who fail to comply with the set regulations.
“We urge all parties to work together to ensure that the Transition to Endemic Phase proceeds smoothly to ensure the wellbeing of Malaysians,” The Star reported him as saying.
Touching on the matter, Koh said that such strict enforcement was necessary in the early stages of the pandemic as the people then were unvaccinated and hospitalisation rate was high.
Trust the people, business owners
However, he added, the situation has improved since then as Malaysia is now in the phase of managing the pandemic.
“Businesses are aware of how COVID-19 can potentially affect them. Therefore, we should trust business owners and the people to take all necessary precautions.
“Anyhow, such strict enforcement can even be viewed as regressive and will invite resentment from both business owners and the public. We should gradually move away from such restrictive policies,” Koh opined.
After two years of COVID-19, Koh stated the people should by now, know what they should be doing to protect themselves, their families and income.
“As of now, both monitoring and enforcement activities related to Act 342 should be left in the hands of the MOH.
“And the public are advised to follow prescribed COVID-19 guidelines and practice self-discipline to avoid a surge in cases, which may force us to revert back to stringent SOPs which will affect the economic as well as our mental health,” he remarked. – May 1, 2022
