31 penalised for making Raya visits on day two

PUTRAJAYA: The authorities have issued 31 compounds to those who ignored visitation restrictions on the second day of Hari Raya.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the penalties underpin the government's seriousness in enforcing the conditional movement control order (CMCO) during the festive season.

A total of 387 compounds were issued for various offences as of yesterday with 65 arrests made, Ismail revealed.

“I know many feel the action taken by the police is hard; slapping people with compounds just for Aidilfitri visits,” he said during the National Security Council's daily briefing on the Covid-19 situation.

“But I'd like to stress that out of the entire Malaysian population, only 102 compounds were issued against those who flouted the CMCO.

“The number (of compounds issued) is actually small when compared to the population size.”

This year's Hari Raya celebration, which typically lasts a month, has been restricted to just the first day as public health authorities continue to fight Covid-19.

Malaysia's new daily cases initially dropped to double digits in the last few weeks from a peak of over 250 in mid-April, prompting the Ministry of Health to relax restrictions beginning this month.

But interstate travel and social gatherings remain banned.

MOH said the restrictions are necessary to prevent a new wave of infections, especially during Aidilfitri, when it would have been customary for the country's 16 over million Malay-Muslims to visit relatives and friends.

Ismail said the government had made repeated warnings not to take the CMCO lightly, and that the police only began issuing compounds after members of the public were found flouting the restrictions.

“We have issued several warnings before we took action,” he said.

“I myself have said it again and again. The Health directorgeneral too but still there are those who flout the SOP.”