Last week, former prime minister Najib Razak was fined RM3,000 (US$728) for โปรโมชั่น slotxo flouting Malaysia’s COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) rules in public.
Najib was issued two RM1,500 fines for failing to record his temperature and failing to register his entry to a chicken rice restaurant.
The owner of the offending Restoran Nasi Ayam Hainan Chee Meng, meanwhile, was fined RM10,000 for not enforcing the SOP.
The police issued a media release on this issue, hoping to show that they were enforcing the rules on all Malaysians regardless of their social status.
However, to their dismay, they received a less than warm reception from netizens.
BRAZEN ACTS OF FLOUTING RULES
The Malaysian public is fed up with the authorities, VIPs and celebrities for routinely ignoring the COVID-19 SOPs and the perceived double standards.
There have been many high-profile cases of senior officials in the public sector getting away with disregarding the rules over the past two months.
Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa was photographed eating with six others at a community centre project in Cheras in February, though he later paid a fine after the case was referred to the Attorney-General’s Chambers following public outrage.
Rich celebrities too seem to get off scot-free when they can simply pay the fine and all is forgiven.
Among the more brazen cases was Malaysian television host Neelofah’s lavish wedding in March where hundreds of guests ignored masks and social distancing rules.
ANOTHER LOCKDOWN MASS
What is truly fuelling the anger among ordinary Malaysians is the deepening pessimism that the government is losing the fight against COVID-19 despite sacrifices made by Malaysians.
Malaysia has reported some 428,000 coronavirus cases and about 1,620 related deaths, with a state of emergency declared in January to fight the virus. The number of daily new infections has seen a consistent uptick since the start of April.
Yet people are still expected to drink more bitter medicine. The latest Movement Control Order, dubbed MCO 3.0, just announced last week, covers a huge stretch of the country: Six districts of Hulu Langat, Petaling, Gombak, Klang, Kuala Langat and Sepang. It will last from May 6 to May 17.