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The police are investigating an iftar event that was attended by several local celebrities recently for violating standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO)
According to Berita Harian, Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said viral pictures of the ‘Majlis Berbuka Puasa dan Rapatkan Saf 2021’ event held on 29 April at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur showed COVID-19 precaution violations.
“The photos revealed SOP violations at the social event, including the lack of physical distancing of at least 1m,” he said, as quoted by Bernama.
Image via Twitter
Mohamad Zainal said the police have already contacted four individuals to give their statements regarding the event
The police chief said more specifically, three of the event’s organisers and one of the hotel’s management staff have been called to testify.
He added that all those involved — which includes local Malaysian celebrities, singers, and influencers such as Caprice, Ashraf Muslim, Heliza Helmi, Iman Troye, Mawar Rashid, and PU Riz — will be called to the Dang Wangi headquarters as soon as possible.
“Investigations will be conducted under Section 21 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and Regulation 19 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Infected Local Areas) Movement Control Order (No 4) 2021,” he said in a statement on Sunday, 2 May.
Image via Twitter
The police also urged the public to continue complying with CMCO regulations, if not, legal action can be taken against violators
He added that anyone with information on the case can contact the Kuala Lumpur police hotline at +603- 21159999, the Dang Wangi district police headquarters at +603-26002222, or any nearby police station.
The event was called out by netizens over the weekend on Twitter.
Many questioned how celebrities could organise social events that flouted CMCO SOPs, while some food vendors were fined for working.
“Where are the SOPs here? In Kelantan, every event is cancelled, there are no bazaars, dine-in is also not yet allowed. How is this fair to the burger seller?” asked a netizen, sharing screenshots of an influencer’s Instagram Stories of the event.
“This berbuka puasa event, if intentions do not legitimise the methods, do these intentions allow the ignorance of SOP?”
Image via Twitter
Meanwhile, another netizen said, “As much as I have avoided bazaars thanks to my paranoia – I would never call the vendors selfish. They are mostly just trying to survive, make ends meet.”
“What is selfish is rich people flaunting their privilege of holidays and big social events.”
As much as I have avoided bazaars thanks to my paranoia – I would NEVER call the vendors selfish. They are mostly just trying to survive, make ends meet. What IS selfish is rich people flaunting their privilege of holidays and big social events.
— Rina Omar (@RockeRina) May 2, 2021