Shocked over RM50k fine on burger seller, Umno Youth, PKR call for review
Several politicians have expressed sympathy with a burger seller in Kelantan who was slapped with a fine of RM50,000 and they want the federal government to review the standard operating procedures involving small traders.
Kelantan Umno Youth chief Noor Hariri Mohamed Noor said the compound should not have been issued in the first place and the authority should have considered cases like that of the burger seller Wan Mohd Faisal Wan Kadir, who has no permanent job and is about to rebuild his savings after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic...
Several politicians have expressed sympathy with a burger seller in Kelantan who was slapped with a fine of RM50,000 and they want the federal government to review the standard operating procedures involving small traders.
Kelantan Umno Youth chief Noor Hariri Mohamed Noor said the compound should not have been issued in the first place and the authority should have considered cases like that of the burger seller Wan Mohd Faisal Wan Kadir, who has no permanent job and is about to rebuild his savings after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Kelantan Umno Youth urges the federal and state governments to review the standard operating procedures (SOPs) involving traders in the month of Ramadan, as they are desperate to find an income for the survival of their families.
"Exception could be given to help these traders who earn meagre incomes," Noor Hariri said in a statement.
Umno lawyers, he added, would help Wan Faisal to appeal for the reduction of the fine amount imposed on him.
The burger maker was slapped with an RM50,000 fine for operating out of the permissible trading hours under the movement control order (MCO) in the state.
He said at the time he was visited by the police, he was preparing orders for a group of factory workers and would deliver the orders to the factory.
Wan Faisal appealed to the authorities to revise the compound as he was not able to pay the amount.
In relation to that, de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan said in a statement that under the guidelines in determining the compound amount and discount rate under Act 342, licence holders and owners of premises who failed to adhere to the operating hours for the locality would face a maximum compound of RM10,000.
Takiyuddin said offenders could be given a 50 percent discount if they paid the compound within seven days or 25 percent discount if the compound is settled within 14 days.
Meanwhile, Tanjong Malim MP Chang Lih Kang lambasted the government over the exorbitant amount of the compound slapped on Wan Faisal, calling it "cruel and hypocritical."
"How many burgers does Wan Faisal have to sell to pay the compound?
"At the same time, PN ministers and VIPs who flouted SOP were unpunished or only paid a small amount in fines.
"This is the kind of double standard that infuriates the people," Chang said in a statement.
He urged the government to reduce the maximum amount of a compound from RM50,000 to a reasonable amount, such as RM5,000, and to coordinate the SOP with the state governments so as to not confuse the public.
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