GEORGE TOWN: Any new legislation to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic must be retrospective to ensure its effectiveness.
Penang Bar Committee chairman Lee Guan Tong said it would take some time before the legislation can be passed and implemented, but the negative effects of the pandemic came months earlier.
“Apart from Covid-19, the movement control order (MCO) also has had a negative impact on socio-economic conditions,” he said, adding that the damage began on March 18 when the MCO was enforced.
Lee said the magnitude of the losses and other effects will be evident only if the new legislation also covers cases from when the pandemic began.
Issues such as contractual obligations that include the sale or supply of goods, as well as compensation would surface, he said.
He added that matters such as penalties, enforcement of the MCO, labour laws, quarantine requirements and the resumption of business should also be examined.
Lee was commenting on a proposal by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan for the government to formulate a bill that would address mitigation of the impact of Covid-19.
According to Takiyuddin, the proposed bill should be targeted at alleviating the impact of Covid-19 on businesses, including small and medium enterprises, and the people as a whole.
Meanwhile, Kebun Bunga state assemblyman Jason K. L. Ong proposed that a new legislation be passed to protect tenants against eviction if they fail to pay the rent.
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