PUTRAJAYA — The Malaysian government will consider acting against parents who bring their children out to shop during the conditional movement control order (CMCO), Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Monday (May 11)

At the moment there is no prohibition against parents taking their children out to shop at places where large crowds are expected, but Mr Ismail said parents are still not encouraged to do so during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The senior minister said the government may look into tweaking the CMCO so the prohibition could be included.

“Under Act 342 we don’t set the rules that parents cannot bring their kids to the malls and so on,” he told the ministry’s daily national briefing on the Covid-19 situation.

“But as I said before the safety of your kids is your responsibility and you should ask yourself is it safe to bring them around to places where there are large crowds or in confined spaces like the markets and all?

“Yes, currently there may be no (law) but we can change the Act to include prohibiting parents taking their children out in the negative list.”

The government began relaxing movement curbs May 4 with the hope of jump-starting an economy battered by the global pandemic, allowing non-essential services including retail to resume businesses but subject to physical distancing rules.

The announcement led to most malls around the country to reopen, prompting concern by some independent public health experts that it could set off a new wave of infections.

But Mr Ismail suggested the CMCO has been smooth so far with a majority of businesses showing high compliance with the health standard operating procedure prepared by the Ministry of Health.

“I am happy because I was informed by the police under the CMCO the compliance is at 95 per cent,” he said.

“Although it is supposed to be higher but because it (CMCO) is still at the initial phase and at the advisory stage, the compliance is satisfactory.”

The country’s prime minister Muhyddin Yassin had previously announced an extension of the CMCO by four weeks to June 9. MALAY MAIL