Measures taken should follow the rule of law

AS the movement control order (MCO) entered its second phase on April 1, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysians returning from abroad will be brought by the authorities straight to quarantine centres from the airport to undergo a compulsory 14-day quarantine at designated centres.

The new procedure will begin today for any Malaysian returning from overseas regardless of whether their flight was a chartered or commercial one.

It appears that the measure was decided by the National Security Council (NSC). Under the NSC Act 2016, the NSC is authorised and empowered to control and coordinate government entities on operations concerning national security and to issue directives on such matters.

Arguably, the Covid-19 pandemic concerns national security and the NSC therefore has a role to play. But the main legislation that should govern and provide for measures to prevent and control the pandemic in the country should be the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988 (PCIDA). This is why the first and second MCO were made under Section 11(2) of the PCIDA.

It should not be forgotten that the PCIDA is also the legislation to prevent the importation of infectious diseases into the country. Section 6(1) empowers the Health Minister to declare areas outside

Malaysia to be infected areas by way of an order in the gazette.

Despite Covid-19 being a pandemic, no areas outside the country have been declared infested areas. If there is such a declaration, then Section 6(3) allows the minister to “prescribe the measures to be taken to prevent the introduction of any infectious disease into Malaysia from any infected area.”

If the MCO is a measure to control the spread of Covid-19 within or from local infested areas, measures would have to be made under Section 6(3) of the PCIDA to prevent the importation of Covid-19 into the country.

Hence, the measures announced by the Senior Minister must be gazetted as regulations under

Section 6(3) of the PCIDA following a declaration of infested areas outside Malaysia.

It is instructive to note that the Singapore authorities, which have seen imported cases of Covid-19, have acted quickly to make two regulations under Section 73 of their Infectious Disease Act, which is similar to Section 31 of the PCIDA.

As such, it is humbly suggested that the measures in this case be made by the minister under Section 31 of the PCIDA.

Dire situations do call for drastic measures, but let’s not forget the rule of law. HAFIZ HASSAN Melaka