Malaysia COVID-19: Jailed and fined for ignoring quarantine order

By Mohamad Nasir Yusoff

KUALA LUMPUR: A restaurant owner in the state of Kedah in northwest Malaysia has been fined RM12,000 ($2,860) and sentenced to 5 months jail for violating a quarantine order imposed upon his return from Sivagangga, a town in Tamil Nadu, India.

The 57-year old restaurant owner violated the quarantine order by being present in his restaurant when he was supposed to be on quarantine at home.

The pink wristband he was made to wear upon his return to Malaysia gave him away when he was spotted at his restaurant which has since been ordered closed and sealed for a month.

Several consumer groups and NGOs in the state also planned to sue the owner for endangering the lives of customers at his restaurant. This has been the strictest action taken by the health authorities in Malaysia in effort to fight against Covid-19 even though Covid-19 cases are well under control in Malaysia with only slightly more than 9,219 confirmed cases so far with almost 97% recovery rate and only 125 deaths to August 18.

Other cases of blatant ignorance by a minority of Malaysian and foreign workers have resulted in them being fined and jailed, apart from stirring the wrath of most concerned Malaysians.

Another case that has caused great anger among Malaysians was a documentary by Al-Jazeera quoting a Bangladeshi worker accusing Malaysia of ill-treating foreign workers, especially illegals, with Covid-19 by isolating them at quarantine centres.

The Malaysian government which has strongly denied the accusations is in the process of deporting the illegal Bangladeshi and pronouncing him persona-non-grata for life.

Quarantine at designated centres prepared by the government, has been widely acknowledged by World Health Organisation (WHO) as exemplary and one of the best including all the protocol and procedures in the fight against Covid-19.

Malaysians have also been given equal treatment in that they were also quarantined at centres set up by the government and all treatments are given free of charge.

Continuous testing and monitoring done by the government still found single digit and double-digit cases and had warned that another lockdown will be imposed all over the country if new cases reached triple digit.

The general fear has subsided when the government started to relax its restricted movement control order to the present recovery phase and most economic activities, schooling, and office operations have almost returned to normal.

But most Malaysians still strictly abide by social distancing regulations, avoiding crowded places, wearing face masks, and sanitising and washing their hands frequently.