Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has said the government is considering raising the fine and jail sentence imposed on those who breach the movement control order (MCO).

In a broadcasted press conference today, he compared Malaysia’s RM1,000 compound on violators to the far higher fines imposed by governments in Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia.

Yesterday, police arrested 666 individuals for violating the MCO of which 392 were fined RM1,000. Police remanded 263 people while 11 have been placed on police bail.

A total of 7,479 people have been arrested for MCO violations since March 19 when the MCO began.