KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today said that small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) will be given permission to operate soon during the movement control order (MCO).

He said that the relaxation for SMEs will be accompanied by suitable standard operating procedures (SOP).

"Yes, big companies are allowed to operate. However, wait for the latest announcement because further relaxation will be given to micro businesses and SMEs with SOPs that are related to them,” he said in a press conference this afternoon.

Ismail Sabri said this when asked why only big companies were allowed to operate and not SMEs under the latest announcement of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti).

On Tuesday, Miti announced that the approved sectors are allowed to operate at full capacity and with no time restrictions during MCO to tackle the current economic crisis.

Separately, Ismail Sabri said that the government allowed AirAsia to fly domestically in order to meet the flight service demand.

"Domestic flights are allowed to operate during MCO. In fact, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Firefly are already operating.

"At the moment, MAS only flies once a week to Sabah and Sarawak. So with AirAsia resuming their flights, it will help meet the demand,” he said.

"However, the standard operating procedures remain the same where individuals need to get police permission before flying anywhere in the country and those flying to Sabah and Sarawak, will be quarantined for 14 days,” he added.