Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he had discussed the issue with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on the matter

“We need to focus on the flash floods now. Based on the bipartisan spirit, the bill will be postponed,” he told the House.

Earlier, the Dewan Rakyat was suspended for 15 minutes.

The current session had been extended by one day to debate the amendments involving increased penalties for individuals and companies for flaunting Covid-19 SOPs.

Khairy said he had also had discussions with MPs.

“This is in line with the spirit of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government and Pakatan Harapan and to reform Parliament,” he said.

He said the amendments to Act 342 were crucial as they involved public health and the fight against Covid-19 and other infections.

Khairy said his ministry also had discussions with the Parliament Select Committee on health, adding that he was urged to postpone the amendments “not because they do not support the bill but there are some details that need to be reviewed”.

“I agree with this because it is crucial to get public compliance. If we vote today, and the bill does not get consensus, we will have problems with public compliance,” he said.

Khairy agreed with the proposal by the opposition to publish clear guidelines, SOPs and the amount of fines.

Rakyat wins, say MPs after postponement

Anwar questioned the reason for the hefty penalties in the amended bill, calling for further review as the RM1,000 fines for individuals should not be increased to RM10,000.

“There is a need to review the amendment so that it is more effective,” he said.

He said some MPs were on the ground to help flood victims and were not present at the Dewan Rakyat today, and urged the government to send immediate aid to the flood victims.

He asked the reason for not having an early warning system for victims to safeguard themselves and their belongings before the disaster hit them.

“By the time they realised the danger, their cars and belongings were already submerged,” he said.

Dr Kelvin Yii (PH-Bandar Kuching) said after the postponement, the government needed to focus on the devastating floods that had affected several parts of the country.

Last week, despite a proposed reduction in fines, PH said it would reject the amendments as it felt that they were open to abuse of power, corruption and double standards.

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 was halved to RM500,000.

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