Pkr Reps Set Up Free Legal Aid For Unfair Sop Fines

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Four PKR lawmakers have set up a legal aid programme to help residents in their constituencies who get "unfair" fines for alleged Covid-19 SOP violations.
The programme, dubbed Projek Keadilan Untuk Semua (Justice for All project), will offer free legal assistance to residents in the Petaling district, including Petaling Jaya and Sungai Buloh, as well as Kajang.
The representatives involved are Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, Sungai Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah, and assemblypersons Elizabeth Wong (Bukit Lanjan) and Hee Loy Sian (Kajang).
In a joint statement, they said despite the country being under its third movement control order, the definition of offences and SOPs were still unclear.
"They were vague, unclear and constantly changing and had possibly allowed for unfettered discretion for enforcers to interpret the SOPs as they think fit," they said.
They added that some offences may have "low transmission risk" that would not have a wide-scale impact on the community.
"(These include) not wearing masks, being too near to another person or failure to record details on MySejahtera or on the logbook before entering a premises... these could be passed off with warnings from the enforcers," they said.
Wearing a mask is a key element in preventing the wearer from transmitting or getting infected by Covid-19.
The quartet said "inconsequential violations" are resulting in fines higher than the present minimum wage.
"This has led to public cries of unfairness, bias, abuse and emotional stress, especially felt by those alleged to be guilty of the violation," they said.
Those who wish to apply for legal assistance can contact:
Petaling Jaya parliament constituency
+6011 11403861
[email protected] Buloh parliament constituency
+6012 7707423
[email protected]
Bukit Lanjan state constituency
+6011 69557909
[email protected]
Kajang state constituency
+6014 5122279
[email protected]
- Mkini

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