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Malaysia Arrests Thousands Amid Coronavirus Lockdown

VOA News

   Malaysia has arrested more than 4,000 people for violating virus
   lockdown orders, marking the toughest law enforcement action in
   Southeast Asia after the Philippines, where the president encourages
   police to shoot offenders.
   Malaysia is entering what it calls a "harsh mode" or a harsher phase of
   its official Movement Control Order to keep citizens in isolation and
   curb the spread of coronavirus, which threatens both the economy and
   human rights.
   Police set up hundreds of roadblocks, have been conducting inspections,
   and have arrested thousands, including one man who jumped into the
   Strait of Malacca to avoid arrest, according to the government news
   service Bernama.
   "At first, the police enforcement was done in the soft and advisory
   mode, then it changed into the stern mode, and now it has entered the
   harsh mode," Bernama quoted Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the senior
   minister for security, as saying at a press conference Thursday. "So I
   hope the people will adhere to the MCO."
   Lockdown enforcement around the world has ranged from Florida charging
   a pastor who violated orders against mass gatherings, to Australia
   fining citizens who gather in groups of two or more.
   But Malaysia reports one of the highest arrest rates, with 4,189 people
   arrested for loitering since March 18, including 1,449 charged in
   court. The rate is higher in the Philippines, where police arrested
   more than 20,000 lockdown violators, and Philippine President Rodrigo
   Duterte said to "shoot them dead" if needed.
   Malaysia said its lockdown is decreasing the spread of COVID-19. It has
   reported 3,116 total cases and 50 deaths as of Friday.
   Google published data showing how much mobility has changed in each
   nation amid lockdown, using cell phone data. Malaysia saw the presence
   of citizens at retail and recreation sites decrease by 81% on Sunday,
   compared with about a month earlier, according to Google.
   The law enforcement actions have included a crackdown on speech,
   however, that activists worry could threaten human rights, as the
   former ruling party that ran Malaysia for all except two years of its
   modern history returns to power.

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