After an arduous process of having to convince Malaysians to respect the Movement Control Order in hopes of controlling the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, it has been reported by The Star that the authorities are finally seeing the positive improvements that they have been hoping to obtain out of their enforcement efforts.
During a press conference by Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday (24th March 2020), the authorities reported a 95% compliance rate with the Movement Control Order, indicating that more and more Malaysians are staying home as intended. This is in comparison with the initial 92% compliance rate on Sunday (22nd March 2020).
“We can see that roads are clear because the public are staying home.
“We are pleased to see improvements in the compliance rate,” he said.
As of Monday, police have already held 1,029 roadblocks and checked 163,687 vehicles nationwide. The Malaysian army, which has been roped in to help the police with enforcement, have also held 2,481 surprise checks and 1,179 public announcements on Sunday (22nd March 2020) alone.
However, the Defense Minister has mentioned that the current trend now is seeing people who have returned to their hometowns trying to get back into the city. As of now, those who left the cities during the onset of the MCO will not be allowed to return back. 23 roadblocks have been conducted across major highways in Malaysia to prevent such occurrences.
Given the increase in compliance among Malaysians, we hope that all of you continue to do your part in flattening the curve, and be sure to stay home during this period!
Also read: 33yo Mechanic Is First Person Charged For Going Against Movement Control Order Enforcement
