PETALING JAYA: The proposed Bill on the Temporary Measures to cushion the impacts of Covid-19 could be modelled after laws adopted by other countries.

A source said it could be similar to the Coronavirus Act 2020 passed in the United Kingdom late March.

However, the Bill would be tailor-made to the needs of local businesses.

“It will be a temporary measure, maybe it could last for six months or one year. The duration has not been decided.

“The law will be applicable as long as required, ” added the source.The UK’s Coronavirus Act covers various aspects of society, economy, security and health post Covid-19.

The Act will be in force for two years but it has to be brought to the British Parliament for renewal every six months.

Entrepreneur Development and Co-operatives Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said there should be comprehensive laws that not only dealt with infectious diseases but their impact on the nation.

He said there were weaknesses in the current laws.

“It is not sufficient for the law to focus on the disease only as we realised from Covid-19; the well-being of the economy is equally important, ” he said.

At present, he said the current regulations on social distancing and revival of the economy stemmed from provisions under the movement control order (MCO).

“The standard operating procedure to deal with Covid-19 comes under the MCO – from containing the outbreak, flattening the infection curve and now the recovery phase.

“Once the MCO ends, there must be new set of laws for the SOP to... regulate social distancing and economic recovery post Covid-19, ” he noted.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan had announced recently that the Cabinet had agreed to the drafting of the proposed Bill.

The law, he said, was aimed at providing temporary relief from the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, which included large corporations, small and medium enterprises and the public as a whole.

Takiyuddin said 31 ministries, departments and agencies had submitted proposals on the proposed Bill.

As of June 5, there were 331 proposals and 35 written submissions.

It is learned that a paper on the Covid-19 Temporary Measures Bill will be forwarded to the Cabinet after which it would be brought before lawmakers in Dewan Rakyat next month. The MCO was first implemented on March 18.

This was followed by the conditional MCO and recovery MCO, which is to last until Aug 31.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/19/proposed-bill-could-be-modelled-after-laws-in-other-countries