MITI revokes approvals given to four companies to operate during MCO - Azmin

Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, said investigations are also being conducted by the Labour Department in Peninsular Malaysia and the police against 35 companies reported to have violated conditions set by his ministry.

"The public may lodge complaints directly to the police or MITI if they come across any violation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) by companies allowed to operate," he told a media conference here today.

Azmin pointed out that failure to comply with the SOPs amounts to a criminal offence under Regulation 11 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) (No 2) Regulations 2020.

Failure of companies to comply with the SOPs will result in immediate revocation of their approval to operate as well as legal action according to the existing laws, he said.

Meanwhile, Azmin said the Health Ministry has provided MITI with guidelines on health precautions and strict movement control that must be adopted and complied with by the companies that are allowed to operate.

As a safety measure to ensure that all workers of companies permitted to operate are free of COVID-19, MITI will collaborate with the Human Resource Ministry through the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) whereby all workers are required to undergo COVID-19 screening, he said.

"Employers that apply to operate must ensure that all their workers undergo screening at any of the 3,000-plus SOCSO panel health clinics nationwide according to Health Ministry guidelines," he said.

He also said SOCSO will bear the COVID-19 screening costs for workers.

For the construction players, Azmin said among the conditions set by the Works Ministry and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is that the companies must reduce the number of workers to the bare minimum, or to a level not exceeding 50 per cent of what is currently needed.