By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Apr 15: Even though the police will show some compassion on certain circumstances during the Movement Control Order (MCO), the public has been warned not to use it as an excuse to go out in twos or in a group.
State Disaster Management Committee chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas noted that the issue of only one person being allowed to travel in a car during the MCO period could be impractical, especially for workers in specific sectors.
While the issue has cropped up since the second phase of MCO, he said the Committee had appealed to the police to look at the special circumstances of violaters.
“The police also understand as sometimes there could be a need for two persons (to go out and run errands) like in rural areas where maybe one longhouse only has one vehicle. So they have to go together.
“We were informed by the Deputy Police Commissioner yesterday that they will listen to explanations but they also notice that people will take advantage of it,” he addressed the daily press conference of Covid-19 today.
Thus, Uggah warned that having circumstances cannot be used as an excuse for the public to go out in a group.
“There are instances where the public took advantage of that in order to go out together. I wish to remind the public that (MCO) is enforced not for the police but safety of ourselves in this time of crisis,” he emphasised.
“Try to avoid getting in crowds because the chances of transmission are very high and you can be at risk to be infected. If we continue to observe social distancing, we can stop the spread,” he reiterated.
Meanwhile, Uggah pointed out that the MCO compliance rate in Sarawak have achieved 97 per cent to date.
“In the past 24 hours, police arrested 26 people in Sarawak for not adhering to the MCO and 222 people have been issued compounds.
“Since MCO was enforced on March 18 until today, 511 individuals have been compounded and 607 individuals were arrested,” he added.—DayakDaily
