Sometimes it takes our ‘favorite’ childhood punishment for Malaysians to finally obey the rules.
In a video posted by Nanyang Daily on Sunday (29 March) a group of teenagers was instructed by the police to do push-ups and ketuk ketampis for defying the Movement Control Order (MCO).
The incident took place in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, an area that was just recently declared as a 'COVID-19 red zone', making way for more police and Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) personnel to be deployed to monitor the compliance of the residents.
Nanyang Press group editor-in-chief Datuk Hoong Soon Kean reporedly spotted the group gallivanting in broad daylight in a field in Kepong Baru at around 3pm, on that Sunday.
The police came to the scene after they were alerted and decided to teach the young boys a little lesson. Before they were sent home, the officers allegedly instructed them to do push-ups and ketuk ketampis, a classic punishment during our school days that we are all too familiar with.
The 46 second video went viral and was shared across social media, with netizens mainly in support of the police’s rather unconventional methods.
In another video posted by Twitter account, My Crime Watch, police officers were also seen deploying the same method to keep people off the street.
In the 14 second video, a line of men was seen doing the ketuk ketampis at the side of the road under the watchful eyes of a police officer, reminiscent of how we used to be punished when we were naughty at school!
While this may not be a conventional method, it seems that the authorities are doing all that they can to ensure that the public is safe by staying at home.
In the daily COVID-19 press conference held yesterday (31 March), Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri revealed that there has been an increase in arrests relating to the defilement of the MCO guidelines.
As of 29 March, 828 people have been detained nationwide for disobeying the MCO.
As we enter the second phase of MCO, we hope that the public will start taking the MCO more seriously and avoid going outside, if it’s not necessary!
By: Siti Farhana Sheikh Yahya
