From Ong Kian Ming
One would have thought that more than a year since the first MCO (FMCO) was announced in March 2020, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government would know how to implement a full lockdown with clear and transparent SOPs.
Sadly, this has not been the case. Since the total lockdown (FMCO) started on June 1, there has been more confusion and questions compared to the first MCO.
Here is a list of issues I have compiled based on media reports and social media postings over the past one week.
20 issues we still are unsure about 1 week into the FMCO
1) We still don’t have a comprehensive list of which sectors or industries are under the jurisdiction of which ministry.
When the FMCO was first announced, I issued a statement asking the government to make public a comprehensive list of the different sectors of the economy and which ministries are responsible for overseeing them. This list has not been published.
We need this information even though the issuing of approval letters has gone back to Miti’s CIMS 3.0 system. This is because the approvals still have to come from the respective ministries and there is confusion among the ministries themselves as to which sectors they are responsible for.
2) We still don’t know if restaurants are allowed to operate if they have not got an approval letter from Miti.
Although food and beverages are considered essential items and F&B an essential industry, it is unclear which ministry is responsible for approving the operations of the many thousands of restaurants in the country.
The housing and local government ministry has said that hawkers only need to produce their licences from the local authority and not have to wait for the Miti letter to continue to operate. But this has not stopped some irresponsible enforcement officers from pressuring hawkers into showing their Miti letter.
Some restaurants continue to remain closed even for takeaway meals because they have not got their Miti approval letter yet. I have received reports that the domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry thinks that only franchise restaurants come under its purview but not the non-franchise restaurants. The National Security Council (MKN) has not clarified this issue at the time of writing.
3) We don’t know if those operating roadside stalls selling food and drinks can continue to operate without an approval letter from Miti.
This is similar to the point above except that some of these stalls don’t operate with a valid licence from the local authority. But how about those who have been given a temporary licence to operate by the local authorities in KL and Selangor, for example, during the Covid-19 pandemic? Can they continue to operate? Are the enforcement officers clear on this policy?
4) We don’t know what criteria is being used to ban the sale of alcohol but allow the sale of cigarettes
The deputy trade and consumer affairs minister was reported to have said that the sale of alcohol was banned because it is considered a non-essential item but that the sale of cigarettes would continue to be allowed to cater to the “cigarette addicts”. Later on, senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob expressed his confusion over this statement since shops which sell beer such as 7-11 were still being allowed to operate.
Some supermarkets then closed down the sections of their operations selling beer and other alcoholic beverages to comply with the “instruction” from the deputy minister. The domestic trade minister has not issued any public statement on this issue, as far as I know.
I am not advocating a ban on cigarettes. What I am asking, like many other Malaysians, is consistency and clarity on the part of government. If the production and sale of alcohol are banned during the FMCO, has the government considered that people may seize the opportunity to make and sell illegal alcohol which will be much more dangerous to consumers? Or have we forgotten the deaths of those through methanol poisoning by consuming cheap and illegal alcohol back in 2019?
5) We still don’t know if automotive/car workshops are allowed to operate if they have not got an approval letter from Miti.
Even though car workshops are listed as essential under the distributive trade category, it is unclear which ministry is supposed to give approval for these workshops to continue to operate. The transport ministry does not list auto workshops under the sectors that are under its jurisdiction for approval in its SMILE application system.
The domestic trade ministry is maintaining an elegant silence on this issue. So, many car workshops continue to remain closed. Which means that those in the logistics sector needing servicing may face some challenges. And those who need to drive to work because they are in the essential services sector must hope and pray that their cars or motorcycles don’t break down or require major servicing.
6) We don’t know if those which are in the distributive trade sector and supplying to the essential services are allowed to operate and which ministry they must seek approval from
I know of someone who imports various types of PPE equipment to supply to the hospitals and Covid-19 quarantine centres in Malaysia. Without getting the approval to operate, his company would not have been able to continue to supply these essential items to the health ministry. He tried applying to the domestic trade ministry but the website and later, the google form application, crashed. After trying various options, I was made to understand that his approval was finally granted. I am still unsure as to which is the approving ministry for this particular sector of the economy.
7) We don’t know if air-con maintenance and repair are allowed and from which ministry approval should be sought to operate.
Critical maintenance and repair are listed as one of the 17 essential services during the FMCO but I think they only apply to the construction sector. What about maintenance and service operations which are critical for the continued operations of other essential sectors? For example, if the air-conditioning system at a hospital breaks down, we need to carry out repair work. Factories producing food and beverages also need their air circulation system to be maintained. In fact, one can say that given the airborne nature of the Covid-19 virus, the air-conditioning sector should be considered as essential, especially for the servicing of commercial (including factories) and government buildings.
8) We don’t know if plumbers are allowed to operate and which ministry they should seek approval to operate from.
Plumbers are important to ensure that the toilets in hospitals, factories, offices and government buildings are “flowing” smoothly. But which ministry is in charge of approving plumbers to continue to operate under FMCO?
9) We don’t know if those servicing photocopiers and printers are allowed to operate.
I also received a request from a company whose sales and marketing arm services the photocopiers and provides printing paper to many government ministries and agencies, including the health and finance ministries. If such companies are not allowed to operate, the ministries and even hospitals may not have the required paper to print their documents on and also would not be able to have access to photocopiers and printers which have broken down and are being left unrepaired during the FMCO.
10) We don’t know what criteria are being used to approve or not to approve those who are in the essential services supply chain.
There should have been a clear mapping and understanding of the sectors and companies which are critical to the continued operations of the essential services sectors. This can be used as the basis for approving or not approving, at a much-reduced capacity, companies which are part of this supply chain. We have not seen such a mapping or heard any explanations from any minister with regard to the bigger picture surrounding the supply chain for essential services.
11) We don’t know how children are going to learn online when computer and telco shops are closed and the stationery sections in supermarkets are shut down.
The education minister recently announced that classes will remain online when school reopens on June 13 and 14. But many parents who want to repair their laptops and handphones used by their children for online learning at home cannot do so because these services are shut down during the FMCO. Furthermore, even the stationery sections of some supermarkets have been sealed off, preventing parents from buying items for their children to use at home.
12) We don’t know how people are supposed to work from home (WFH) if their laptops break down and their phones are damaged but the IT and handphone shops are closed.
Those who have to work from home using their laptops and handphones better hope that their devices don’t break down during the FMCO since none of the places which repair these devices are open during the MCO. (I had a problem with my laptop which could only be fixed at the HQ of the company and I was informed that this could only be done after the end of the FMCO. Thankfully, I have the resources to buy a new laptop but what about those who don’t have the funds to buy a laptop during such an emergency?)
13) We don’t know how those who rely on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) shops can continue to seek such treatment.
I was also told that those seeking treatment from TCM shops cannot do so during the FMCO. The operators of the TCM shops cannot even go to their shops to pack packages of herbs to send to their customers as they are not considered an essential service even though they provide health and other related relief to their customers.
14) We don’t know why hair colouring is not allowed to be sold at pharmacies.
Apparently, some pharmacies closed their section selling hair colouring as it is deemed a non-essential item. I cannot understand why the selling of hair colouring at a pharmacy, which is already open, can be detrimental in our overall fight against the pandemic.
15) We don’t know why the home improvement section in some shops, for example DIYs, are not allowed to be opened.
Apparently, some sections of hardware shops which sell home improvement products have been cordoned off. I received a report via Twitter that a person couldn’t buy “hooks” for his bathroom from a DIY outlet.
16) We don’t know how people are going to cook at home if some of their home appliances break down since electrical appliance stores are not open and the sections selling some of these items in supermarkets are closed.
Household appliances such as rice cookers and kettles have their shelf life. Some may short-circuit during the FMCO because of overuse. But we may not be able to buy their replacements because those shops selling electrical appliances are not open and the sections selling these items in some supermarkets have been cordoned off.
Of course, there is the option of buying these items online but delivery may take a few days and for some of the semi-urban areas, the preferred option would still be to go to the physical store to procure these items.
17) We don’t know how companies which are in non-essential sectors can continue to maintain their data centres in case of emergencies.
I know of a company which is in the non-essential sector but has an important data centre which stores and processes critical information to the financial services sector. For these companies, they need to have one or two people on standby to access the data centre in case there is an emergency or if the server breaks down (for whatever reason). Is MDEC, the agency under the multimedia and communications ministry, that is in charge of data centre operations, aware of such issues happening?
18) We cannot understand why some companies were issued letters of approval by Miti but when the QR code for the company is scanned by police, the details reveal that it is considered a non-essential industry.
This is a bit of a technical issue but is important in terms of preventing companies and their staff from being unfairly fined. Some companies which are listed as essential services suddenly find that they are not classified as an essential service when the QR code on their Miti letter is scanned by the authorities, including the police. This means that the employees can potentially be fined thousands of ringgit for violating the FMCO.
19) We still don’t understand why jogging is allowed but cycling is banned.
I appreciate the fact that jogging and exercise in our residential areas are still permitted. But I fail to understand why cycling is not permitted, especially if one is cycling within a 10km radius of his or her home. Furthermore, some people actually cycle to work (including some factory workers in my constituency) and some people cycle to the morning market. Will they be fined for cycling by the enforcement authorities?
20) We still haven’t heard about the following ministers coming together and separately giving a press briefing on the sectors under their jurisdiction – Miti; home; domestic trade; communications and multimedia; housing and local government (just to name a few)
I am not sure if a gag order has been issued by the prime minister to disallow ministers other than Ismail Sabri to have press briefings for the FMCO. But given the current confusion over the SOPs, shouldn’t the ministers from the key ministries organise a joint press conference to clear the air? We wait with bated breath for this to happen.
Ong Kian Ming is the DAP MP for Bangi.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.