Act 342 Amendment Bill Treats Infection Like A Criminal Offence
The Act 342 Amendment Bill 2024 treats infection like a criminal offence, raising compounds on individuals to RM5,000 and granting Health DG vast powers over isolation and surveillance, among others, and CPC investigation powers for authorised officers.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is making its latest attempt to amend the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342), while retaining many of the controversial provisions that led to previous failures.
The latest attempt is supposedly in line with a recent decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) member countries to adopt critical amendments to the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR).
This was supposed to include provisions for a National IHR Authority, an entity established at the national level to coordinate the implementation of the Regulations within the country’s jurisdiction. However, this provision is absent from the new bill.
Instead, the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Bill 2024 curiously retains many of the contentious elements from the previous amendment.
These include a revised Section 25 proposing compounds of up to RM5,000 for individuals and RM50,000 for companies; a revised Section 24 imposing general penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment or fines of up to RM10,000 for individuals, and up to RM100,000 for companies; and a new Section 31 that stipulates penalties for specific breaches of regulations, including imprisonment for up to two years or fines of up to RM8,000 for individuals, and imprisonment for up to two years or fines of up to RM50,000 for companies.
The new bill varies slightly from the previous amendment in terms of penalty amounts. It appears to impose tougher penalties on individuals (increasing from a maximum RM1,000 in compounds and RM2,000 in general fines), while reducing fines for corporations (decreasing from a maximum RM500,000 in compounds and RM2 million in general fines).
The bill also retains controversial provisions, including Section 21(A), which grants the Health Director-General broad powers to issue directives for controlling infectious diseases, including lockdowns and isolation.
Non-compliance is a criminal offence, extending the DG’s authority beyond the current Act, which regulates diseases like Covid-19, HIV, dengue, and tuberculosis.
Section 14A allows an an authorised officer to order any person who is infected or who he has “reason to believe” has been infected with an infectious disease to “undergo isolation or surveillance” in a specified place and for a determined period as the authorised officer may think fit or until he may be discharged without danger to the public.
Section 15A enables an authorised officer to issue any order to be complied with by any person who is infected or whom he has reason to believe to be infected, or any contact, for the “purpose of tracking and monitoring”. Such order may include order to wear any form of tracking device provided by the authorised officer and to use any digital application in any digital device as determined by the authorised officer.
Section 21B empowers the authorised officers to carry out investigation under Act 342 in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code [Act 593], while Section 21C empowers the authorised officers to require any person to furnish any information relating to the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
Although the new bill does not explicitly reference the IHR, the powers granted to the Health DG and authorised officers imply that the MOH will effectively act as both the IHR Focal Point and the National IHR Authority, as outlined in Article 4 of the IHR amendments.
Under Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration, the government tabled an Act 342 amendment bill in December 2021 – during the Covid pandemic – that raised compounds of offences from the current RM1,000 maximum to RM10,000 for individuals and up to RM500,000 for corporate bodies.
Individuals convicted of offences under Act 342 faced penalties of a maximum RM50,000 fine, up to three years’ jail, or both under Section 24 on the proposed amended general penalties. For corporate bodies, a maximum RM2 million fine upon conviction was proposed.
The bill underwent two revisions before being shelved in March 2022 due to intense public backlash. The punitive approach faced criticism from ordinary citizens, businesses, lawyers, and doctors.
Current Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, among other lawmakers, opposed the bill, calling the proposed amendments a “cataclysmic failure”.
