The RM50,000 fine for the Kota Bharu burger seller, Wan Mohd Faisal Wan Kadir is evidence of the prevailing kakistocracy under the Muhyiddin government
The RM50,000 fine for the Kota Bharu burger seller is evidence of the prevailing kakistocracy under the Muhyiddin government.
Wan Mohd Faisal Wan Kadir, 38, who operates a stall in front his house at Kampung Rambutan Rendang, Kota Bharu, was visited by the police at about 11.10 pm two nights ago when he was completing some orders and was slapped with a RM50,000 fine for operating out of permissible trading hours under the movement control order (MCO) in Kelantan.
Under the MCO rules in Kelantan, eateries can only operate until 10pm.
Wan Faisal said: "At the time, there were no customers at the stall.
"I was preparing some orders for a group of factory workers. I usually deliver their orders to the factory."
In the circumstances, Wan Faisal should not be slapped with a RM50,000 fine. Can Wan Faisal make RM50,000 a month from operating a burger stall?
What the police should have done was to issue a stern warning to Wan Faisal that he would be fined if breaches the movement control order again.
What has compounded the kakistocratic character of the incident was the comment that the Kelantan Police had violated the government guidelines for compound notices issued for offences under the movement control order.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Takiyuddin Hassan said that according to the guidelines, licence holders or owners of premises who fail to abide by the opening times under the MCO are guilty of a Category 3 offence and can only be fined up to RM10,000.
Offenders are also entitled to a reduction by as much as 50% if they pay the compound within seven days, and up to 25% if payment is made within 14 days.
The harsh RM10,000 fines imposed on individuals and RM50,000 fines on companies were imposed under the Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases)(Amendment) Ordinance 2021 which came into effect on March 11, 2021.
After more than a month of operation, even the Police do not fully understand the new emergency regulations, as claimed by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Is this how the kakistocratic government is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic?
No wonder that Malaysia is not one of the countries in East Asia and the Pacific, which is one of the global bright spots in the war against Covid-19 pandemic, which had performed well in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Malaysia must pull itself up by the bootstraps so that we could be one of the better performing nations in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
End the Emergency and convene Parliament to spearhead an “all-of-government” and “whole-of-society” strategy and approach so that we can perform better in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic and not trail behind other countries like Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, UAE, Hong Kong, Vietnam, China, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.