Speaker Azhar Harun said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had consented to the extension and all MPs would be notified of this.

However, the announcement was not well received by some, especially MPs from Sabah and Sarawak, who said they had bought air tickets to return home.

Today was supposed to be the last day of the current Dewan Rakyat session.

RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) said the postponement was unexpected and MPs already had plans concerning their constituencies.

Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin stood up to confirm that the bill will be tabled for a second reading on Monday.

The second reading allows MPs to debate on the bill especially on hefty penalties for individuals and companies flouting Covid-19 SOPs.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said since this morning there have been discussions with the health ministry on the need to postpone the debate.

He said this was to give space to relevant select committees and MPs to discuss on the hefty penalties.

He said the select committees could discuss the bill at 8am while the sitting could be held at 10am.

“If nothing substantial is agreed (upon), then we could further raise the issues during the sitting,” Anwar said.

Yesterday, despite a proposed reduction in fines, Pakatan Harapan (PH) said it would reject the proposed amendments as it felt it may be open to abuse of power, corruption, and double standards.

This morning, youth group Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat gathered outside Parliament to hand over a protest note to Khairy over the heavy punishment proposed under the Act.

Anwar and several Barisan Nasional MPs, including former prime minister Najib Razak, had previously said they would not vote for the amendments because they considered the penalties excessive and disproportionate.

In the revised bill, the maximum compound fine of RM10,000 for offences under Act 342 has been maintained, but the maximum compound fine for companies has been halved to RM500,000.

Currently, all compound fines issued under the Act are subject to a RM1,000 cap.

General penalties for offences that do not have a specific punishment have also been revised. In the original revised bill, individuals were subject to a fine of up to RM100,000, imprisonment of up to seven years, or both. This was changed to RM50,000 and three years in jail.

The proposed maximum penalty of a RM2 million fine for companies has not changed.

Under the existing Act, general penalties for all offenders are lower, with a maximum jail term of two years, a fine or both for a first offence, and imprisonment not exceeding five years, a fine, or both, for subsequent offences.

The revised bill does not differentiate between first and subsequent offences for general penalties.

General penalties are also used when offenders are unable to pay a compound fine and are later charged in court.

The amendments include specific Covid-19 offences like removing one’s electronic bracelet while under quarantine or breaching movement restrictions, and can be gazetted by the health minister without parliamentary approval.

While breaches by any offender were set to be punishable by a fine of up to RM50,000, up to two years in jail or both, this has been changed to a fine not exceeding RM20,000, up to three years in jail or both for individuals, and a fine of up to RM1 million for companies.

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