We're taking action on factories, says Ismail Sabri - Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: The government is not being lax in allowing factories to continue operating but is taking action against those who flout the rules, senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

Health ministry data showed that factories made up 48.1% of cases from Covid-19 clusters between Feb 22 and April 2, and the green light they have been given during the movement control order (MCO) to continue operating has been questioned by several quarters, especially since they do not appear on the HIDE system of potential hotspots.

Stating that the health ministry constantly conducts risk assessments of factories, Ismail said scores of them have been ordered to stop operations recently.

“Many factories which were found not to comply with SOPs have been ordered to close. It’s just that we don’t announce this to the rakyat,” he said during a joint press conference with health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today.

“Maybe the rakyat just know about Top Glove, as they are the most famous (factory). But since May, as many as 70 factories have been ordered to close after they did not follow SOPs and government orders.

“So we are taking action. If the (health ministry’s) assessment finds they cannot operate, they will be ordered to close.”

The government ordered Top Glove, the world’s largest glove manufacturer, to temporarily close 28 of its factories in Meru, Selangor, last November after a spike in Covid-19 cases among their workers.

The cases linked to the Meru factories were known as the Teratai cluster, which ended up being the largest in the country with 7,205 cases.

Among those questioning the lack of enforcement against factories include Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin, who in March took the National Security Council and the international trade and industry ministry to task over the lack of leadership in curbing the high rate of Covid-19 infections in key industrial areas in Penang.

Putrajaya has also been in the spotlight for suspending operations at major shopping centres listed under the HIDE system last week.

In reply to a question as to whether the system simply drives shoppers to malls that are not listed as potential hotspots – and thus creating crowds there – Ismail said the government has decided to limit the number of people entering such premises.

“Actually, we have given orders for all shopping complexes to operate with tight SOPs,” he said.

“It’s not a matter of many people gathering (at a certain mall) or not, but about controlling (them) in terms of movement – like when they enter a certain shopping complex.

“This morning we discussed and decided on introducing SOPs to have limits on entry. Usually we see everyone go in at once, and that creates crowds. Our aim is to prevent that.”