KUALA LUMPUR: Troops will enter the streets of Malaysia on Sunday to assist law enforcers in implementing a partial lockdown to keep residents at home and contain the spread of coronavirus.

The government’s Restricted Movement Order (RMO) is in effect nationwide from March 18 to 31.

“The army will help police monitor the situation and ensure that people comply with the RMO and stay at home,” Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob told reporters on Friday, adding that the deployment does not mean the government is declaring a state of emergency.

The deployment comes under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, which gives the health minister the authority to appoint any government agency to help enforce necessary public health measures.

The capital city, Kuala Lumpur, has become unusually quiet and traffic-free as all businesses, schools and government departments were ordered to suspend operations, except for those providing essential services. Compliance, however, is not yet satisfactory.

“A lot of people are still ignoring the RMO,” Yaakob said.

People are still taking their children to playgrounds and have been dining out, disregarding the rules of social distancing.

Currently, Malaysia has the highest number of reported coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia and the third highest in Asia.

Azrul Mohammad Khalib, chief executive at the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, told Arab News that the military presence will help in enforcement efforts but that it should be limited to complimenting the police force.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Govt not declaring emergency, says defense minister.

• Malaysia has highest number of cases in Southeast Asia.

“The army’s physical presence on the streets will communicate strongly to citizens that this is a serious crisis that requires their cooperation for the country to get through,” he said.

According to Shahriman Lockman, senior analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, health and civilian authorities need to remain at the forefront of all response efforts, and the public deserves an explanation as to why military personnel are going to be deployed.

“Even though there is a pressing requirement to augment the police force in enforcing the RMO, the government needs to be conscious of the unintended consequences of deploying the military, including the precedent it creates,” he said.

Ivy Kwek, research director at Research for Social Advancement, told Arab News that although the military deployment showed the government’s seriousness in responding to the outbreak, more needs to be done to raise public awareness about social distancing.

“More public communication and awareness campaigns by government agencies (are needed), and the mobilization of communities to spread the message will be crucial. We need a whole-of-society approach to win this ‘war’ against COVID-19,” she said.

Malaysia has witnessed a sharp increase in the number of reported coronavirus cases, from 238 cases on March 12 to 1,030 as of Friday evening.

The epicenter of the outbreak in the country was the Sri Petaling Mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, where 16,000 people joined a tabligh event in late February. Most of the persons who are known to have contracted the coronavirus are related to that religious gathering.