The government will amend laws to impose stiffer penalties on those who violate regulations in place to stop the spread of Covid-19.

In a pre-recorded televised address today, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that this approach was necessary to avoid a total lockdown of the economy.

Among others, the new rules will allow the government to shut down businesses which do not follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs), take legal action against business owners and penalise main or subcontractors.