KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Business Associations (FMBA) is concerned with the proposed amendments to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
FMBA chairman Datuk Malik Abdullah said his members were against the amendments, to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in its current sitting, as it could wreck their businesses.
"FMBA is concerned with the empowerment of officers to enforce this act and the officers' arbitrary powers in the act.
"The heavy fine of up to RM500,000 to businesses and its subsequent fines of up to RM2 million could cripple businesses as many may not be able to pay such exorbitant fines.
"FMBA agrees that there should be law and order to govern a pandemic.
"However, as the situation now is increasingly moving towards an endemic, these heavy fines and compound punishment are detrimental to the country's economic recovery and considered burdensome to the rakyat," he said.
Malik added that during this post-pandemic period it was very critical for businesses and the recovery of the country's economy required the support from the government.
"We need to have progressive policies, rules and regulations that will encourage new and foreign investments.
"FMBA urges the government not to have laws that gives too wide a discretion for the enforcement units and which does not refer to the court of law entirely.
"FMBA proposes to defer any changes and only to implement a new ruling when the industry players are consulted.
"This is to ensure that the recovery of our country's economy can be hastened and more creative and constructive steps can be taken to bring real benefits not only to businesses, but to each and every person as a whole," he said.
The Health Ministry had last December, reduced some penalties on individuals and corporate bodies found flouting Covid-19 standard operating procedures.
The ministry, however, is now proposing a maximum compound amount of RM500,000 for companies, which is half of the initial RM1 million proposed in the amendment bill.
The ministry has not proposed lowering the maximum RM10,000 compound amount for individuals that was listed in the bill.
As for the general penalty for offences committed under the act, the ministry has also proposed a maximum fine of RM50,000 and a maximum three years' jail or both for individuals, which is about half of the bill's initial proposal of a maximum fine of RM100,000 and maximum seven years' jail or both for individual offenders.
For corporate bodies, the ministry however did not propose lowering the maximum RM2 million fine that was listed in the bill.
The ministry had initially proposed to introduce Section 31(3) into the act, which would enable regulations made under the act to state that any action breaching the regulations is an offence and to state the penalties as a maximum RM50,000 fine or maximum two-year jail term or both.
On Dec 15, the ministry proposed that the new Section 31(3) instead specify the penalties for breaking regulations under Act 342 according to whether the offender is an individual or body corporate.
The ministry's proposed new Section 31(3) would state penalties for regulations breaches for individuals as a maximum RM20,000 fine or maximum three-year jail term or both, while body corporate such as companies can be penalised with a maximum RM1 million fine.
The three changes proposed are on the maximum compound amounts and maximum penalties which can be imposed under the Act, which courted the ire of the Opposition bench in Parliament, on Dec 14.
The Bill was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat for the first reading on Dec 14 and the government had hoped to have it passed the day after, the last parliamentary meeting for the year.
However, it was then postponed owing to criticisms and it expected to be tabled and debated in the current sitting.
Currently, the act confers the director-general the power to offer a maximum compound amount of only RM1,000 on offenders to avoid being charged in court, following the repeal of the Emergency Ordinances (EOs).