×
Menu
Search

Confusing Movement Control Order 2.0 – Making Sense Of Two Passengers Per Car, But Four Diners Per Table



Pin It


Oct 17 2020
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Pinterest
Linked In

A junior secondary school student was happy that the weekend has finally arrived. She wanted to join her parents for a short shopping trip to a nearby supermarket. After all, the school is closed and she was tired being trapped at home attending online classes. To her horror, her parents said she can’t join because only two passengers are allowed on board a vehicle.

 

The student protested, arguing about the lack of common sense in restricting a vehicle to only two passengers, but at the same time allows four diners per table. Her parents were speechless and dumbfounded. Apparently, from her conversation with friends in WhatsApp group, the student learned about the discrepancy and contradiction in the latest lockdown rules implemented by the government.

 

After the country saw days of spike in Covid-19 new cases, a Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) 2.0 lockdown was implemented from Oct 14 to Oct 27 in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya. But even after gaining experience from the first CMCO (implemented on May 4), the backdoor government of Muhyiddin was still clueless, confused and chaotic.

Coronavirus - CMCO Lockdown - Two Diners Per Table

From the beginning, “Turtle Egg” Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was as confused as a termite in a yo-yo. Initially, he told all and sundry only two diners per table were allowed. Then, he changed his mind and said that up to four people can dine together – if the “table is huge enough”. Nobody knows the definition of a “big table” so it’s anybody’s guess, or until the police issue you a RM1,000 fine.

 

It’s a mystery why the minister could not make a simple decision – allows a table to accommodate four people as long as they are immediate family members. Common sense says it does not matter how big a table is as long as four patrons are families living together. If they could squeeze four persons at a one-square-foot table for a lavish steamboat dinner, by all means go ahead.

 

Exactly why should the authority restrict four diners to a big table, unless Minister Sabri was referring to strangers sharing a table, a scenario which is risky and should not be allowed in the first place? As social distance means to stay at least 3 feet (1 meter) from other people, you need at least a 5-feet-by-5-feet table to restrict four strangers to each corner of a dining table.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob

However, even if there are tables big enough to fit four immediate family members, just for the sake of compliance, a father needs to make 3 trips just to bring all of them to a restaurant for a meal. This is to due to the 2 passengers per car rules. Another 3 trips are needed after the meal to bring the families back home safely. Imagine a family of eight.

 

The problem with the current rules is that it says only “two members per household are allowed to go out for food supplies and other necessities”. The term “other necessities” is vague. What if a family of four wants to go out for a dinner together? Or what if the plan was to go for grocery before proceeds to a nearby restaurant for a lunch or dinner during the weekend?

 

Sure, the safest option is not to dine-in, but to choose takeaway, drive-through, delivery or simply cook at home. If dining in a restaurant is not safe at all, why does the government allow dine-in to begin with? Inclusive of the driver and two passengers (strangers), e-hailing and taxis can carry a total of three people on board each vehicle. Yet a private car is restricted to only two passengers.

Coronavirus - CMCO Lockdown - Two Passengers Per Car

In the latest move today (Oct 17), the clueless turtle egg Ismail Sabri told people who wish to travel with more than two people, like those running family businesses, to get police permission instead to avoid being slapped the RM1,000 compound fine for each violator. This means the government believes a taxi with 2 passengers is safer than a private vehicle with 3 family members.

 

Interestingly, during the CMCO 1.0 in May, up to four people from the same household were allowed to travel together in the same vehicle. To make matters worse, speculations or rumours were spreading like wildfire on social media that you can be slapped with RM1,000 fines if both the driver and passenger sit side-by-side in a car. The passenger is supposed to sit at the back for social distancing reason.

 

There were other vagueness in the new SOP (standard operating procedure) of the CMCO 2.0. When confusion over inter-states and inter-districts travel prohibition exploded on social media, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri was forced to explain that workers are allowed to travel inter-district and inter-state provided they have valid work passes or approval letters from their employers.

Coronavirus - CMCO Lockdown Police Roadblock

But if you are travelling across state lines for medical or emergency purposes, a special permit from the police is required. The best part was when people were both afraid and confused about the so-called districts – is travelling between Ampang Kuala Lumpur and Ampang Selangor considered as crossing districts? And if you call different police stations, they might give you different answers.

 

The new CMCO 2.0 was also different from the first CMCO 1.0 in terms of how far can you travel to your destination. During the first CMCO, you cannot travel more than 10 kilometres away. This restriction does not apply this round. However, nobody knew about it until Minister Sabri explained it after the confusion exploded.

 

And who can forget how the government had allowed up to 500 daredevil guests to attend wedding functions during CMCO 2.0 lockdown, only to backpedal the next day and reduced the number to 250 people. With so many U-turns in policies, not to mention a confused and clueless government that lacks leadership, perhaps CMCO means Confusing Movement Control Order.

Coronavirus - CMCO Lockdown - Wedding Function

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …



Pin It

FinanceTwitter SignOff
If you enjoyed this post, what shall you do next? Consider:



Like FinanceTwitter Tweet FinanceTwitter Subscribe Newsletter   Leave Comment Share With Others


Comments

Whilst you are lambasting this “backdoor” government, there’s another backdoor government waiting in the wings to seize control. This time, their leader is really into ‘back-door’, he really loves it. Yes, the current government is bad, but that one that’s fantasising about taking over … boy! You are in for the biggest disappointment.

Issues involving logic and maths had best be dealt with by the Chinese, they have proven ability and great record for such.

Even though old Uncle Mohammad has a medical degree from fakir Zakir Naik that teaches bacteria hide in one of the wing of a fly, our blessed science and math-challenged bomohs can’t really rely on even the upgraded medical skill that also advocate drinking camel urine.

Developing a procedure requires subject knowledge, data, experience, articulation, logic, meticulousness, feedback, etc. Centralised planning or control is particularly difficult, and tends to become delusional. Sychophants add to the mess.

Leave a Reply

(required)

(required)(will not be published)