THE cabinet must clear up its lines of communication before issuing statements, because contradictory announcements confusing the public and businesses, said Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.

The former plantations and commodities minister was referring to yesterday’s announcements made by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on the places traced as hotspot by the Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system.

“Khairy released locations listed on the HIDE system, saying all premises and locations listed are not confirmed Covid-19 clusters.

“However, these premises and locations had potential to turn into clusters if pre-emptive actions were not taken,” she said.

“Later, Ismail Sabri issued a statement saying premises on the HIDE system will be locked down immediately for three days.

“They contradicted each other so, whose statement is correct and will the shopping malls listed on HIDE be closed?” asked the DAP lawmaker.

Kok said the contradictory announcements invited objections from the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) and Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA). 

“The reaction from these three associations is expected. How can the government give them less than 24 hours’ notice to close down more than 150 shopping complexes?

“Thousands of businesses in these locations are totally unprepared for the sudden ‘shutdown’,” she said. 

Kok added that this is not the first time Khairy and Ismail Sabri have contradicted each other.

She highlighted the instance few days ago when Ismail Sabri said people who want to cross districts for vaccination must get approval from the police, while Khairy rebutted his statement and said people who want to cross districts for vaccination don’t need to get police approval, but they just need to show notification of vaccination in their MySejahtera app to the police.

“In the last two instances, they have failed to communicate and failed to understand each other’s concerns before they made public statements.”

Kok said better communication and co-ordination between ministers, civil servants and the affected sectors is most essential, adding that a mutually co-ordinated action will remove all unnecessary confusion.

In a statement, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii added that contradicting announcements also impacts businesses, which are struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic. 

Yii said it speaks volumes of a government that has probably lost control, or does not have a clue how to deal with this pandemic.

Besides this, Yii also said that the government must explain the methodology and parameters used for the three-day closure rule.

Despite the HIDE system showing the majority of shopping malls as potential hot-spots, Yii said the data also clearly contradicts the health ministry’s data, which states that most of the clusters are from factories or places of work, which are allowed to operate, and community transmissions. 

“While I am supportive of active measures and proper pre-emptive interventions, the parameters and methodology of identification must be clear and backed by science.

“Otherwise, we may see unintended consequences including stigma towards a certain business area that can significantly affect revenue, or worse businesses ordered to close without proper explanation.

Yii added that specific parameters used to determine the list must be made transparent to remove any perception of bias, unfairness or even oppression.

He said the government must also properly engage with all stakeholders and explain itself and come up with a comprehensive way forward in order to prevent any unwarranted negative impact to any industry involved. – May 9, 2021.