KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — Companies producing essential goods that have obtained approval letters to operate during the movement control order (MCO) phase 1 and 2 may use the same document for phase 3 which starts tomorrow and ends on April 28.

However, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) said it encourages the companies to apply for a new registration if they want to get a new format approval letter with QR codes to facilitate inspections of their companies, should it be required by the authorities.

“In addition, Miti also clarified the application system configuration issues for companies operating during the Phase 3 MCO called Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) 2.0 is currently being refined and upgraded. This effort was conducted with CyberSecurity Malaysia and several ICT industry experts from the private sector,” it said in a statement today.

Miti said it expects the application system to resume at 3pm today and apologised for any inconvenience that was caused during the previous system configuration upgrade.

“However, companies can still make applications and it is recommended they go directly to this link application.miti.gov.my, rather than to the Miti website.

“Please note company applications cannot be processed when the CIMS 2.0 system runs from 12pm to 6am daily,” said Miti.

Yesterday, Miti said it would take up to five days to process business operation applications during the MCO.

In a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on MCO No. 3 released yesterday, Miti said if an application is successful, a letter of approval would be auto-generated by the CIMS 2.0.

According to Miti, if a company approved to operate during the MCO period is found to have violated operating conditions, it would be seen as a criminal offence under Regulation 7 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Local Area of Infection) 2020 which brings a fine not exceeding RM1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both.

For companies that intend to increase their workforce capacity, although they had obtained Miti’s approval to operate during Phase 1 and 2 of the MCO, the ministry said they are required to reapply for additional capacity in CIMS 2.0.

For those whose applications are rejected, Miti said appeals can be made at CIMS 2.0 and companies could also check the status of their applications.

The 17-page long FAQs can be viewed on Miti’s official website at https://www.miti.gov.my/miti/resources/FAQ_MITI_BIL_3.pdf