Sufficient supply of food, essential items, says Ismail Sabri

KUALA LUMPUR: Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday advised the people not to unnecessarily worry over food and essential goods supplies as there is more than enough to go around.

This is based on daily monitoring done on 25 types of items at 815 business premises, including retailers (612), wholesalers (173) and producers (30) by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry and enforcement and checks by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP).

“Overall, the supply of essentials is sufficient for the nation’s needs, and easily available as well,” he said in a statement on developments concerning the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), which entered its 22nd day yesterday.

Ismail Sabri said KPDNHEP enforcement teams had conducted 1,885 special RMCO compliance inspections and found 1,870 premises had adhered to the SOPs, while the 15 which did not were advised to do so.

Meanwhile, police detained 71 individuals for defying RMCO directives yesterday, of which 29 were remanded and the rest slapped with compound notices.

“The violations include indulging in karaoke and entertainment centres activity (12 individuals), pub or nightclub activities (four), reflexology or massage activity (seven), activities involving large crowds that hampered social distancing (34) and activities that did not comply with standard operating procedures (SOPs) (14 individuals),” he said.

Ismail Sabri said the police also mounted 66 Op Benteng roadblocks nationwide and inspected 41,775 vehicles to curb the entry of illegal immigrants, especially along rat trails, which resulted in 16 arrests.

Also, five of the 53 construction sites inspected by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) failed to adhere to SOPs and were cautioned while 10 more were found not to be operating, he said.

Ismail Sabri said 724 Malaysians returned from abroad Wednesday via the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and KLIA2 from Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Brunei.

Of those, 723 will be undergoing mandatory home quarantine while one individual was sent to the hospital, he added.

Ismail Sabri also urged those under home quarantine and who have yet to undergo the Covid19 second screening test on the 13th day, to do so before action is taken against them.