Gerakan In The News

Gerakan urges MCO extension at red zones, stricter action against violators

Apr 23, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai has urged Putrajaya to take sterner action against those who break the law under the movement control order (MCO) and to also extend the restrictions in red zone areas, if active cases are still reported on April 28.

This comes after a new cluster was reported in Pengerang, Johor where 15 people tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday and an increase in the number of people violating the MCO.

“The rate of recovery for Covid-19 patients is showing us that we have the virus under control as the percentage of those recovered is at 62.4 per cent as of yesterday.

“However, there are still active clusters in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and Pahang, including 15 new cases in the Pengerang cluster.

“Due to this, we at Gerakan hope the government will consider stricter action against those who go against the MCO,” Dominic said in a statement this afternoon.

Yesterday, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a new cluster was discovered in Pengerang, where the index patient (first detected) was initially diagnosed with dengue.

He then decided to travel interstate to Selangor to visit relatives and friends before returning to Johor where his condition started to deteriorate.

He was then admitted to the hospital and is currently in critical state. Dr Noor Hisham advised Malaysians again not to travel or visit friends and relatives.

Earlier yesterday, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri said that the total number of people arrested for breaking MCO stood at 17,725, of which 1,236 have been charged in court.

Dominic said the increasing numbers of violators show that the government’s efforts aren’t effective enough and better measures need to be made to stop people from going out during the MCO.

“The continued increase in MCO violators is something we must give serious consideration to. The government should find a more effective way to stop these people from flouting the law during phase three of the MCO.

“One of the ways we can do this is to stop these people from getting their Bantuan Prihatin Nasional money,” Dominic added.

Dominic also said Putrajaya should extend the MCO at all red zones if cases are still reported on April 28, which is the last day of the MCO.

“To avoid more clusters popping up, Gerakan proposes that the MCO be extended at all red zones, while those wanting to return to the city must adhere to the highest hygiene standards in order to avoid the virus from spreading again.”