BATU GAJAH, April 20 — Perak Health, Science, Environment and Green Technology Committee chairman Mohd Akmal Kamarudin said the state government will help six matriculation students appeal their RM1,500 fines for movement control order violations.

Akmal assured the six from the Perak Matriculation College in Gopeng that the state government would try to have the fines reduced to the lowest possible.

“The matter is still under the Health Ministry’s investigation. From our side we respect the action taken by the enforcers as their intention is to curb the Covid-19 spread.

“For the students, they don’t have to worry as the state is concerned with what happened. We will help them in the appeal process so that the fine can be reduced to a minimum amount,” he told a press conference after launching a food safety operation at a Ramadan bazaar in Dataran Orkid here.

Akmal also asserted that there was a special rate for compound notices issued to students and the disabled.

He expressed confidence that the students would be able to afford the reduced rate following the appeal.

“And even if the students can’t pay the amount after it is reduced, then my side will aid the students in the payment,” he added.

When asked to specify the nature of the six students’ violations, Akmal claimed the matter was still under investigation.

He then advised the public to remain calm over the incident, noting that it was the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

 

Yesterday, photographs appearing to show the students receiving compound notices for violating the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent Covid-19 infections were posted online.

On Twitter, some users spoke out in defence of the students, saying they have been confined or “quarantined” in their college for over five months in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman also commented and accused the authorities of applying a double standard when enforcing the SOPs and discriminating against ordinary Malaysians.

In recent months, there has been a growing perception of preferential treatment for celebrities, political leaders, and government officials over publicly recorded violations of the SOPs.