FMM president says MoH data have shown that factories are not the main sources of infections

by ANIS HAZIM / pic by TMR FILE

SELANGOR government maintained that local authorities (PBTs) have no power to issue a closure order on factories to curb the spread of Covid-19 in their areas as the power lies with the federal government.

Its executive councillor (exco) Ng Sze Han (picture; left) said Section 107(2) of the Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171) does not elaborate on the power of PBTs to issue a closure order on factories.

“Although the act was referred to as giving absolute power to PBTs to revoke the factoring operating licence, however, the revocation of the licence must be done in accordance with the conditions and parameters stated in the licence at the time it was issued, rather than arbitrarily or without basis,” Ng said in a statement yesterday.

According to Ng, the factory operating licence issued by PBTs is only subject to Act 171, which does not include health issues relating to the prevention and control of the infectious disease.

“Such matters are subject to health law enforced by the federal government through the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342),” he said.

The statement was made after PKR VP Rafizi Ramli questioned Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari on why the state government did not order factories to be shut down, through withdrawal of operating licences by the local councils.

Ng had previously censured the International Trade and Industry Ministry for allowing more sectors to reopen during the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) period.

The Kinrara assemblyman added that the state government is ready to implement the necessary actions and policies to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic within the existing legal limits and parameters.

Moreover, Selangor has followed the standard operating procedures (SOPs) which were compiled and enforced under Act 342 since March last year.

“This includes the MCO and EMCO which are currently in force almost all over the state,” Ng added.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai (right) said shutting down factories will have a devastating economic impact to the nation.

“Businesses cannot be sustained if factory operations are closed or reduced in capacity, which will lead to knock-on effects in the economy with significant loss of jobs due to the extensive supply chains and networks involved in manufacturing,” Soh said in a statement yesterday.

“If industries remain closed for too long, it could cause economic stagnation and irreparable damage to the economy, including the possible exodus of foreign investors and reduction in domestic investments,” the federation head said.

According to Soh, the manufacturing sector has been the pillar of economic growth as evident from the fourth quarter of 2020 economic performance, where the manufacturing sector was the only economic sector with a positive growth of 3%.

Quoting Health DG Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, Soh said close 70% of the total Covid-19 cases were sporadic cases, while 30% came from clusters of which 62% are workplace clusters.

“Factories only account for 30% of these workplace clusters. This works out to be around only 6% of the total number of cases that can be attributed to factories,” he said.

Recently, the Ministry of Health (MoH) has also reported that only 15,069 (9.7%) out of a total of 156,105 infection cases from June 1 to June 26 were attributed to the manufacturing sector.

Soh said the data by the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre of MoH have also shown that factories are not the main sources of infections.

“FMM acknowledged that the risk of factory infections cannot be totally eliminated especially now with the high percentage of sporadic cases and with the virus in the community,” Soh said.

Therefore, FMM will continue to ensure strict adherence to the SOPs and preventive measures at the workplace and workers’ quarters in compliance with Act 446, and accelerate the process of getting all employees vaccinated through the Public-Private Partnership Covid-19 Industry Immunisation Programme.