LETTER | What do we make out of all the SOP summonses really?

The recent RM50,000 fine slapped on a solo burger seller in Kelantan is acrimonious. A state championed by a theocratic political leadership that never failed to scream religious values has allowed the law to trample upon reason and compassion.

Let us review the case in question objectively.

A lone Malaysian had a burger stall in front of his house. His business was not in a spanking, thriving, gated and guarded upmarket residential area but in a tiny village - a real kampung mind you.

He was operating the stall past a 10pm deadline.

The truth is he was preparing for the orders placed by a nearby factory. He was not entertaining dozens of customers crowding his stall.

And for that, the police slammed a fine that would have been meant well for a factory not observing SOPs or an entertainment outlet in the cities with streaming customers.

Even the offer of discounts for the fine makes a mockery of the law.

A minister on the PN payroll was quick to reassure that a 50 percent discount is in the offing if paid within seven days.

Why offer discounts in the first place if you have already deemed it justified to issue such a ridiculous amount of compound in the first place?

Are compounds becoming "Cheap Sales" in the market place? Or is it a cover-up for your ill-begotten policy enforcement?

Where is our discretion? Whatever happened to the value of compassion in this holy month of grace and forbearance?

This case in question deems the numerous accounts of summonses, be it for the Covid-19's SOPs or some traffic issues, questionable.

There appears to be a serious misfit. The gap between policy crafting, implementing and redress is grossly in a state of serious disconnect.

The political leaders enjoying their new found cushy salaried jobs with perks unaccounted for must be hauled up and be made to take the rap.

Indeed the failure to exercise common sense and compassion is a fundamental flaw that deserves more than outcries of displeasure.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.