Is the Malaysian government regretting on the decision to allow inter-state travel for those yearning to go back to their hometown to celebrate Hari Raya? By the looks of retrospective decision and comments made by the Defense Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who is responsible for Safety and Security during the Covid 19 crisis, it may sound so.

With Raya just a day away and the ban already in place, the Minister is dumbfounded why there are still many attempting to cross the state border, this is despite CMCO still in place and the constant reminder for not spreading the virus back home. After handing out of permits were closed this week, about 2539 vehicles tried their luck to cross the state border only to be turned back by the Police at various checkpoints. According to the Senior Minister, out of those Malacca registered the highest number of attempts at 886 followed by 362 and Penang 284, people are just relentless, don’t they realise this is not a game and serious consequences are at stake stated the Minister. Months of SOP to break the Covid 19 chain will go down the drain if a another nationwide outbreak occurs, which will compel us to bring MCO back.

In view of the recent travel ban, the Ministry has also now rescinded the earlier permission for married couples to visit each other once a week. For the frontliners who looked for to visit their loved ones are now left in the lurch due to some stubborn group. On top of this for those still trying their luck will now face stricter punishment, they will not only be asked to turn back but will also receive a RM1000 compound which must be paid within 2 weeks.

The action of these individuals will cause the Government to rethink their approach in the future for other festive holidays or in total of allowing inter-state travel. MOH will be watching closely these 2-3 weeks on possible clusters across all states, with many already in the green zone lets just hope they don’t turn red again.