KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Smart Consumers Association called on the government to act more decisively against those who are still stubborn towards the government’s instructions in complying with standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Its president, Mr. David Chan (picture) said, his association found that there are still parties ignoring the order, including the latest case of an entertainment center which was raided for opening it’s door to visitors.
According to him, in such cases, the parties involved clearly take lightly the importance of compliance with SOPs in the government’s efforts to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In this regard, he said, the government could no longer just impose a compound but a heavier form of punishment including imprisonment.
“We want those who seem to be challenging the government’s authority to be punished because they not only violate the law but can also cause the Covid-19 pandemic to further spread in the community.
“We do not want the entire business sector, including eateries and hawkers, to be prohibited from operating because of the bad attitude of a few parties” he said.
He said the daily cases of Covid-19 in Sabah is still high at 720 cases as at yesterday. Kota Kinabalu alone accounted for 151 cases, which clearly show the need for all parties to work together to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“It is disappointing to note that owners of entertainment centers shamelessly open their centers for operation. It may be because they have no problem in paying whatever compound issued to them”
“Therefore, if the compound is not able to deter them, we would like the government to impose a heavier fine or mete out a more appropriate punishment so as to prevent the rise of covid 19 cases” he added.