Adhere to SOP or park will be closed, public told
Authorities have warned that a public park here in Taman Tunku would be closed if people do not comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP).
Seberang Prai City Council mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamad said a check at the park on Friday saw several people not wearing face masks or practising physical distancing.
“Even the tape to seal off some of the infrastructure was damaged,” he told reporters yesterday.
Rozali said if the park goers still failed to adhere to the SOP, then this would be the second park in the state to be closed.
On Aug 15, Vision Park in Bertam was ordered to close for a week after its management failed to comply with the recovery movement control order (MCO) guidelines.
Most residents in Penang, when interviewed, wanted the recovery MCO to be extended beyond Aug 31.
Student Firdaus Amran, 23, said an extension was necessary to slow down the infection rate, especially amid the emergence of new clusters.
“If the government wants to extend it beyond Aug 31, why not? It is for the best of everybody,” he said.
Computer analyst Syed Arafath Syed Mustafa said he even expected a total lockdown if the situation did not improve.
“If the number of cases keeps increasing, I do not see why the government should not implement a lockdown,” said the 40-year-old.
The recovery MCO, which was announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, is from June 10 until Aug 31, and is part of the exit strategy in the efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.
In Johor Baru, Yayasan Suria founder James Ho said it was unlikely that the recovery MCO would be discontinued.
“Many of us prefer our life to be back just like it used to be before MCO but we have to look at the situation right now.
“Malaysia is among the countries that have been doing really well in controlling the spread of Covid-19 but we should not let our guard down. So these measures should continue for the time being,” he said.
Johor Business and Traders Association president Roland Lim said many businesses would be affected if the MCO was prolonged but noted that many were recovering gradually under the recovery MCO.
“While things are difficult, the situation is still better than the first phases of MCO,” he said.
Johor Indian Muslim Entrepreneurs Association secretary Hussein Ibrahim hoped Singapore and
Malaysia would hasten plans to let more people cross the border.
This would help boost the local economy and prevent further financial problems among local businesses, he added.
Johor women, development, family and community committee chairman Zaiton Ismail said the recovery MCO was expected to still be around in the next few months.
“It is too soon for us to stop implementing the recovery MCO as people are still fearful of Covid-19.
“It is impossible for the authorities to further relax the current SOP as that would be a risky move that could jeopardise all the efforts we have previously put into mitigating the situation,” she said.
Meanwhile, Twitter user Nurul7 posted: “I just hope our MCO will be extended again.”
Another Twitter user, Stefan_2120, said he did not want to see new clusters emerging, which could create a third wave of infections.
Since Malaysia was recording new cases in the single digit, he said “the last thing we want is the number to shoot back up to triple digits”.
“If that happens, all of our efforts will be in vain.
“And to make things worse, the government will have to extend our MCO longer.
“Let’s also not forget the fact that our frontliners have worked hard and fought this battle for months,” he added.