KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — MRT Corporation Sdn Bhd is  among the thousands of construction companies awaiting the Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s (Miti) approval to operate during the movement control order MCO), said the works minister.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof revealed that the MRT Corp’s application, the owner of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project, is among 9,834 other pending applications.

He said these applications have not yet received Mitii and the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Authority’s (CIDB) permission to resume operations.

Fadillah, during a live press conference broadcasted on local television channels this afternoon, was asked to clarify if companies handling large-scale public infrastructure projects were among those who had submitted applications to resume operations.

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“In the context of MRT, they already applied but have to be given approval as it is still being reviewed by CIDB.

“When we have an application, we will review it whether it fulfils the prerequisites that we have set,” he explained.

He revealed that as of yesterday evening, a total of 19,077 applications were submitted to Miti, with applicants comprising construction companies, industry professionals, and those service within the construction industry.

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From these, 7,387 were rejected and 1,856 allowed to operate while adhering to the strict rules that have been placed.

For companies that have obtained approval, Fadillahwarned them against exploiting the situation and to strictly follow all the regulations that have been set following the government’s decision to allow several pockets of the construction industry to resume operations during the MCO.

He explained how his ministry, the Local Government and Housing Ministry, CIDB, the Department Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), the Public Works Department (JKR), and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) are all in cooperation to enforce the guidelines and regulations these companies have been asked to follow.