KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Barisan Nasional (BN) will pay a compound of RM10,000 for violating the standard operating procedures (SOP) of Phase Four of the National Recovery Plan (PPN).

Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir in a statement said BN is a law-abiding party, and respected Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s directive not to hold any election-related rallies.

"However, in the opinion of BN, the directive is related to rallies in Melaka. Therefore, the launching ceremony of the BN machinery which should have been held in Melaka was moved to the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) on Wednesday (October 27),” he said.

According to Zambry, the selection of WTCKL was made as Kuala Lumpur had already entered Phase Four of the PPN which allows rallies to be held with an attendance capacity of 50 per cent of the event hall.

"The attendance of guests at the launching ceremony at Dewan Tun Hussein and Tun Ismail WTCKL yesterday had taken into account the SOP guidelines regarding capacity,” he said.

However, what happened outside the crowded hall was beyond the control of the organisers, he said.

The Kepong Health Office today issued a compound of RM10,000 to BN for violating the SOP of Phase Four of the PPN.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) through a post on its social media platform said that the compound under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) was issued to BN following the organisation of a social event at WTCKL last night.

The notice also said that the RM10,000 compound will expire on November 9.

Starting October 25, MOH enforced a ban on gatherings or social activities related to the Melaka state election including the launch of machinery.

The ban was issued because the gathering was at risk of causing an increase in Covid-19 infection. — Bernama