PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is only three per cent away from achieving full compliance of the Movement Control Order (MCO) which has been enforced since March 18 to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the compliance rate had reached 97 per cent as the directive for Malaysians to limit their movement entered its 11th day today.
Despite the improvement, Ismail expressed disappointment over the defiance of certain quarters against the order.
Ismail, who is also the Defence Minister, was referring to the arrest of 614 people on Thursday and Friday for failing to adhere with the MCO.
“Among the cases include those involving a congregation of people who had performed Friday prayers at a mosque at one district in the country yesterday.
“This has resulted in the arrest of 116 members of the congregation. I have been made to understand that five other mosques had organised Friday prayers on the same day.
“I hope this does not recur since it has been said by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Religious Affairs (Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri) that Friday prayers at mosques have been replaced with Zohor prayers at home during the MCO period,” Ismail said in a Press conference here today.
On Mar 19, Dr Zulkifli had said that there would be no public prayers at mosques and suraus nationwide due to the MCO.
This followed the decision made by the Muzakarah (discussion) Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) and the respective states in the country as well as on the instruction from the federal government.
Ismail declined to reveal the exact locations of the mosques.
He also reiterated that the MCO applies to all types of residential areas including gated neighbourhoods when commenting on the arrest of 11 joggers who were detained during a police patrol at Mont Kiara and Desa Kiara yesterday.
“This directive applies to all irrespective of the residence; gated residential areas and others,” he said.
He said the police also noticed a significant number of vehicles heading to the city centre during the MCO.
“Today, I received a clip showing congestion at roads in the city centre and some parts in Selangor.
“This is proof that there are still those who failed to comply with the MCO,” Ismail said adding that the police inspected 240,544 vehicles at 1,046 roadblocks yesterday.