PETALING JAYA: Despite warnings and stiff penalties, Malaysians continue to flout the ban on interstate travel imposed under the conditional movement control order (CMCO).
On Sunday, 43 people were stopped for violating the ban and ordered to make a U-turn. Of them, 38 were remanded and five were given police bail, Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.
Police also issued 365 compounds at the 147 roadblocks mounted across the country.
Ismail Sabri, who was speaking at the daily media briefing on the Covid-19 outbreak, said among those who were issued compounds, 40 were from Perak, making it the state with the highest number of violators.
The next highest was Selangor with 29, followed by Penang with 23.
The travel ban has been eased marginally from yesterday. Police will now issue permits to those who have to travel between states.
Apart from emergencies and work commitments, couples who work and live in different states may now visit one another.
He advised would-be travellers to apply for police permits before purchasing their flight tickets to visit their spouses.
The travel restrictions also apply in Sabah and Sarawak. In Sarawak people are not permitted to travel from one district to another.
Ismail Sabri added with the restrictions on interstate travel in place, the GerakMalaysia app is no longer applicable.
The app enables people to apply for a travel permit online. Ismail Sabri said that during the first three days of its launch, there were a million applications for travel from several states to Kuala Lumpur.
On another matter, he said the RM1 waiver for cash withdrawals through automated teller machines will remain until the CMCO is lifted. The lockdown is scheduled to last until June 9.
On safety measures at construction sites, Ismail Sabri said the Construction Industry Development Board had inspected 600 sites and about 900 of them were found to have complied with the Health Ministry’s standard operating procedures but 224 had failed to adhere to them.
He said another 4,000 construction sites remain closed despite being allowed to resume operations.
On the reopening of barber shops and hair salons, Ismail Sabri said the National Security Council and the Health Ministry are still discussing the guidelines to allow them to restart.
