KUALA LUMPUR: All business premises are only allowed to operate until 12 midnight during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) period.
Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob issued the reminder after he received reports that there were business premises operating 24 hours.
"There are convenience stores that are operating 24 hours throughout the RMCO period.
"I do not know why this is happening. Perhaps, these premises obtained the permission from their respective local authorities.
"Having said that, I want to stress that all business premises are only allowed to operate until 12 midnight," he said.
The authorities, said Ismail Sabri, will not hesitate to take any action against business premises operating beyond the permitted hours during the RMCO.
Only clinics and hospitals are allowed to operate for 24 hours throughout the RMCO period, he stressed.
"Business premises, unlike hospitals and clinics, are not essential services. So, they must close by midnight during the RMCO period," he said.
On a related matter, Ismail Sabri said business premises must check the body temperature of their patrons but they are not required to record the readings.
Patrons of business premises, however, are still required to write down their names and phone numbers for contact tracing purposes if they do not have the MySejahtera mobile application.
"The main intention of why business operators are required to conduct temperature scan is to ensure that only patrons who do not display one of the symptoms related to Covid-19 (fever) are allowed to enter the premises.
"It is not compulsory (for business premises) to record the readings. Just scan their temperature.
"Action should not be taken against business premises that don't record the reading of the body temperature of their patrons," he said.
He advised business premises that have been previously penalised for not recording the body temperature of their patrons to contact their relevant authorities to reverse the action.