By Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye
KOTA KINABALU: The planned relaxation of SOPs, as announced by Senior Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammudin Hussein, will provide much-needed relief for the people whose lives and livelihoods have been seriously affected these past 18 months.
Perhaps nobody was counting, but the Minister said that the number of SOPs in place had increased to 181 as the government progressively introduced new rules and regulations to defeat the elusive Covid-19 virus.
This will now be reduced to 10, if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is convinced that this is the way forward. His decision is keenly awaited.
Already some relaxations have already been announced and effected, principally to travel, shopping and dining out.
More concessions will mean a faster return to a semblance of normalcy and will kick-start the economy.
But whether we have 181 SOPs or 10 SOPs, there should be no change in the resolve of the rakyat to keep themselves safe and protected.
There must be no compromise on the use of masks (double where possible), keeping physical distances, and following hygienic habits, besides being fully vaccinated.
On these issues, the authorities should show zero tolerance for any violation.
Now that Langkawi is being opened up, the authorities must ensure strict enforcement of the basic SOPs in the holiday island.
Sadly, this has not been the case elsewhere. Some videos are making their rounds in social media of holiday makers in popular waterfalls where all caution has been thrown to the wind.
Eating, bathing, socializing are all being done with gay abandon. This is also happening on weekends in Port Dickson where the beaches and waterfalls are chock-a-block with picnickers ignoring even the basic SOPs.
While reducing the number of SOPs is a welcome move, it is more important to enforce the rules.
The presence of large crowds in these places is a common sight, especially during weekends. Their presence cannot be opaque to law enforcers.
The rakyat depends on the law enforcers to keep them safe. It is a dereliction of duty otherwise which in itself is a punishable offence, just as much as non-compliance with SOPs is.
CHAIRMAN, ALLIANCE FOR SAFE COMMUNITY
