There was uncertainty amongst Malaysian citizens on whether two people can sit side-by-side in the same car during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).
Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has since cleared up the confusion through a live press conference yesterday (11th November).
What’s clear now is that there is no ruling that the passenger of a car must be in the back seat while travelling during the CMCO. The Defence Minister stated that the only SOP to take note of is the maximum number of 2 people in the car and both must be from the same household.
“I have said this many times, there is no rule saying that one person has to sit behind while the other person sits in front of the same vehicle. There is no rule preventing people from the same household to sit separately in the car. You don’t even have to wear masks if you’re from the same house and are traveling in the same car,” he stated.
Previously, social media was abuzz after a video of a driver getting fined because his wife was seated next to him emerged. According to the live conference, the Defence Minister said that he immediately contacted the highest ranking officer of Bukit Aman upon watching the video to ask about the situation.
“He told me that the video was deliberately made to defame the reputation of the police. The driver wasn’t fined because his wife was sitting next to him but because he was using his phone while driving,” Ismail Sabri explained.
Now that the ruling is clear, don’t forget the other SOPs such as sanitising your hands and practicing social distancing. May we break the Covid-19 chain together.
Source: Astro Awani.
