KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — The Malaysian Artistes Association (Seniman) has appealed to the government to set standard operating procedures (SOPs) for creative industry practitioners during the implementation of the movement control order (MCO).

Its secretary-general Mohd Hafiz Mohd Nafiah said that most industry practitioners worked on a freelance or job basis, and the enforcement of the MCO, which did not allow filming to be carried out, resulted in them having no income to continue living.

"Seniman appeals to the government to issue guidelines or SOPs for us to continue filming for the sake of survival in this very challenging period. Producers are also bound by a contract with a television station with a deadline to complete a project.

"Seniman is very concerned about our members who are struggling due to the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in no job offers which causes their living conditions to be more stressful,” he said in a statement today.

On February 2, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that the government would look into applications to allow more economic sectors to be opened during the MCO, based on the Ministry of Health’s risk assessment.

Yesterday, Ismail Sabri announced permission for the night markets, barber shops and car wash centres to resume operations, after assessment being carried out in terms of risk and the number of clusters produced by these business activities. — Bernama