People who are now stuck in their hometowns after violating the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) to celebrate the Hari Raya Aidilfitri are now in a dilemma.

According to media reports, executive director of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said that private sector employees who committed the offence can be terminated from their jobs if they do not report for work on two consecutive days.

In the case of civil servants, Public Service Department director-general Datuk Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman was reported to have said that they will face disciplinary action if they do not go back to work after Aidilfitri because they are stuck in their hometowns after violating the no-interstate travel ban.

The penalty for this could be disciplinary action or termination, or if they want to go back to their jobs, they will be imposed a compound.

Meanwhile, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has urged the guilty parties who went back for the celebrations not to be afraid of the compound or the legal action.

They have to come back, he said, or face the risk of losing their jobs because they are afraid of the compounds, but these are subject to the discretion of the police, as the roadblocks are still being held.

So the choice is in your hands.

Yesterday, the number of positive COVID-19 cases, with a total of 187 cases, after a three-digit surge the day before, mostly involving foreigners.

With the emergence of new clusters, it does not seem that the fight against the virus will be ending soon, as it demands full commitment from all Malaysians, not just the frontliners

As Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said, the time has come for the people to take on the responsibility of curbing the spread of COVID-19 and giving the frontliners a rest.

Observe the standard operating procedure, break the chain of COVID-19 infections.

-- BERNAMA