The order was issued by the housing and local government ministry following an analysis and contact tracing conducted by the health ministry through the MySejahtera app.

In a letter sighted by FMT, the secretary-general of the housing and local government ministry, Zainal Abidin Abu Hassan, said there was a high risk that these bazaars could cause new outbreaks of Covid-19.

The bazaars slapped with the closure order are in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Kedah, Pahang and Perak.

They are under the jurisdiction of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Subang Jaya, Ampang Jaya, Penang Island, Seberang Perai, Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang, Kota Tinggi, Kulim, Baling, Temerloh, Teluk Intan councils.

The public had previously expressed concern over crowds gathering at these bazaars as it was difficult to practise physical distancing despite enforcement of standard operating procedures.