Home minister Hamzah Zainudin said the OCPDs would act as ground commanders to coordinate the operation, which will be conducted jointly with other enforcement agencies.

Hamzah said employers who breached the SOP under Phase One of the national recovery plan would also face stern action.

“Many of the workers arrested in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur told us that although their colleagues had contracted Covid-19, others were not quarantined.

“We have gathered all this information. Tomorrow, we will arrest the employers as well because they have not only committed offences but also have been cruel to their workers,” he said.

The Covid-19 movement control order SOP compliance and enforcement coordination committee (JKPS) had set several key performance indicators (KPIs) for the OCPDs to monitor the effectiveness of Op Patuh, he said.

“The OCPDs will come out with their own Facebook pages and other media platforms to give live reports to us … the whole country can see it tomorrow,” he told a press conference after chairing a JKPS meeting here today.

Hamzah said that to ensure the effectiveness of Op Patuh in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, JKPS had sought the cooperation of the Selangor government and Kuala Lumpur City Hall to obtain maps of industrial areas and workers’ accommodations which posed a high risk  of spreading Covid-19.

“Op Patuh will take into consideration the information in these maps when conducting the enforcement operation from time to time.

“Firm action will be taken against any party found to have violated the SOPs and other government directives under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) and other existing Acts,” he added.