PETALING JAYA: The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) is calling for agencies involved in enforcement activities on companies operating under phases one and two of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) and the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) to take on an empathetic stance.

       Its president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said these agencies should take on a more educational and advisory stance on their enforcement instead of approaching it on a very aggressive and microscopic fault-finding mission.

       He said this is where companies are immediately imposed fines with very little opportunity and time given for them to rectify the faults, especially minor oversights.

       “Very little empathy is shown in companies that are struggling to sustain operations. Instead, many enforcement visits or checks are driven to find the tiniest fault in the premises with no consideration on the level of relevance of the fault in relation to the core purpose of the visit, ie, to prevent Covid-19 infection spread, ” Soh said in a statement.

       FMM has been receiving complaints from members on very hostile enforcement teams and on fines being imposed for the tiniest fault or slight deviation of the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) which are not done on purpose, as adherence to the SOPs have already been ingrained as part of the new normal of business operations.

       Soh said FMM calls on the government to focus on speeding up the vaccination process, especially in the EMCO areas, to immediately contain the further spread of the virus.