Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today took to Twitter to express his disappointment and sadness with some of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s supporters who have been pictured violating Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) during their gathering at the KL High Court this morning.
https://twitter.com/MelGohCNA/status/1287931960644366336?s=20
The Health Director-General posted in reply to news agency, Bernama’s tweet on the matter, saying the ministry has reminded the public of the SOP everyday and yet it continues to be contravened.
“It has already been made clear by the Ministry of Health almost every day reminding Malaysians to abide by the SOP for a safe distancing of about 1 metre, wearing the face mask and regularly washing hands.
“It is very saddening to see a situation such as this where there is no self-control,” he posted.
Sudah terang lagi bersuluh setiap hari Kementerian Kesihatan mengingatkan rakyat Malaysia untuk patuh kepada SOP untuk penjarakan selamat sekurang-kurangnya 1 meter, memakai pelitup separuh muka dan kerap cuci tangan. Sedih bila melihat keadaan begini tiada kawalan kendiri.
— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) July 28, 2020
In similar news, many netizens have taken to social media to voice the double standard of the government’s enforcement of SOPs. This was seen in the five activists from the National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services who were arrested and charged for failing to follow SOPs during a protest for living wages, while here we have hundreds of people brazenly gathered with no enforcement of SOPs undertaken by the police, save for warnings.
https://twitter.com/KhabirM/status/1287937877943267328?s=20
This whole NO SOP bonanza is not a new occurrence. Many pictures have come out recently of people flouting Covid-19 Home Quarantine during the Recovery Movement Control Order(RMCO) phase. The pictures feature Malaysians carelessly flouting SOPs by eating out at mamaks and just reminding us why some people should be kept in cages.
Just yesterday, a total of 357 individuals were arrested for violating regulations under the recovery movement control over, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
“The high number of arrests shows us that the people’s failure to adhere to the SOPs is increasing,” he highlighted.
Punishment for those who do not abide by the directives under the RMCO can be fined not more than rm1,000 or jailed for not more than six months or both.
With Malaysia on its way to a third wave, we really cannot afford to be taking these kind of risks.
Sometimes we take for granted the modernity and efficacy of our medical health system but this comes at many costs. By taking it for granted, we are dishonouring the hard work undertaken by our frontliners – nurses and others, who have helped achieve this manageable case rate.
Just a few months ago, we were on the cusp of a mass pandemic with cases from pre-existing clusters rising daily but now we have successfully reached a plateau in cases due in entire part to the hard work of our frontliners. Let’s not allow for all their work to have gone to waste.
