Bazaar Ramadan, terawih allowed with SOP
Terawih prayers, bazaars can be held with strict SOP compliance nationwide
THE government has given the green light for Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilifitri bazaars, as well as congregational terawih prayers to take place nationwide this year, albeit with strict standard operating procedures (SOP) in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the National Security Council (NSC) Technical Committee had given the nod for these activities to proceed following discussions and after taking into account views from the Health Ministry, as well as committee members.
He said for Ramadan bazaars, organisers and traders were required to adhere to the SOP, such as ensuring that the bazaars were held in open areas with designated entry and exit points, providing the MySejahtera app check-in facilities at entrances, as well as determining the maximum number of bazaar patrons.
He said Ramadan bazaars will be allowed to operate from 3pm to 8pm daily, while Hari Raya Aidilifitri bazaars can operate from 10am to midnight.
He said the respective local authorities in each state will present their SOP for the bazaars.
On terawih prayers, Ismail Sabri said the SOP will be subject to the decisions made by state religious authorities.
“Terawih prayers and any religious activities, like ceramah, come under the powers of the state government. How many people will be allowed in the congregation will be decided by the state government.
“The committee has agreed in principle that all terawih prayers and activities in mosques are allowed and we do not have any objections,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
The New Straits Times, in its front-page report on March 14, had raised the possibility of Ramadan bazaars being allowed to operate this year.
Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa was quoted as saying that Putrajaya, which is under the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), had already received the nod from the authorities for the opening of bazaars.
Ismail Sabri, who is also senior defence minister, also announced the extension of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) by two weeks in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang and Kelantan from March 19 to March 31.
He said Kedah, Perak and Negri Sembilan, which were previously under the CMCO, would now come under the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) during the same period.
Selangor, he said, would remain under the CMCO as most of its localities were classified as red zones, as was Kuala Lumpur, which had an average of 103 new Covid-19 cases daily.
“Only 31.5 per cent of Johor and 33.3 per cent of Kelantan have turned green, with the majority still either red or orange zones.
“Cases in Penang are on the rise, hence why these three states also have to be under CMCO,” he said.
Perlis, Melaka, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah, Putrajaya and Labuan would remain under the RMCO.
He noted that “Covid-19 transmissions as a whole have been on a downtrend and have reduced by 43.7 per cent between March 1 and March 12”.
“The average daily cases recorded during this period are 1,468 cases, lower than the average 2,606 cases reported between Feb 15 and Feb 28.
“Should the trend persist in the coming month and the infectivity rate remain at 0.87, daily cases will be reduced to 500,” he said.
Ismail Sabri believed the “no compound reduction” policy for nightclub-related offences had been effective as a deterrent during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
He said none of the 134 SOP violators arrested on Monday were over nightclub offences.
“This could be because of no reduction policy for such offences, where nightclub-goers will be compounded RM10,000 and the organiser will be com
pounded RM50,000 if they were to be arrested,” he said.
He said of the 134 arrested, 127 were issued with compounds while the rest were remanded.
On another matter, Ismail Sabri said universities had full autonomy to prohibit their students from leaving campus grounds amid the pandemic.
He said universities had the power to do so in order to protect their students from Covid-19.
“Universities can do so as the decision concerns private grounds and such (movement) restrictions are taken to protect their students.
“This is similar to decisions made by condominium management by-laws by preventing visitors from entering the premises as a safety precaution,” he said in response to claims by university students that they had been prevented from leaving their campus grounds after their recent enrolment.