KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today suggested that all fines under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) should be suspended pending a full review of the related laws.
In a statement, the Bagan MP called de facto law minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan “heartless”, when it came to the RM50,000 fines given to hawkers who had allegedly breached movement control order (MCO) SOPs, in contrast to certain ministers who escaped such hefty fines.
“Takiyuddin has attempted to explain that the issuance of compound notices under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) must be carried out in accordance with guidelines set by the government, where they should be imposed a maximum compound of RM10,000 and not RM50,000.
“Takiyuddin has shown himself to be heartless forgetting that for a minister like him, RM10,000 may not be much, but for a poor hawker, even a 50 per cent discount of RM5,000 is beyond their means,” he said.
Lim went on to say that Takiyuddin’s continued justification of the use of Emergency powers only brings hardship to ordinary Malaysians, adding that three hawkers in Takiyuddin’s state of Kelantan were also victims of the disproportionate fines.
“One of the affected hawkers in Kelantan, Mohd Azizi Mohd Nor even said he could not afford the fines and would have to choose to go to prison.
“This is heart-rending as Mohd Azizi is like many ordinary Malaysians working hard to try and feed their families because the government has failed them.
“Who will feed his family when he goes to prison?” Lim questioned.
Lim added that his party DAP has already announced that its lawyers are willing to defend those issued with large fines and challenge their legality in court free of charge, but ultimately, the decision lies with the likes of Mohd Azizi on whether he wants to go to court.
“But Takiyuddin can save ordinary Malaysians the predicament and trouble of harsh punishment, by suspending such fines pending a full review of these laws to ensure justice to poor ordinary Malaysians,” he added.
