With effect from June 24, 2020, the Malaysian government has announced that physical events are allowed to resume and stipulated standard operating procedures and guidelines for organizers & attendees to abide by. Please be advised that the following guidelines apply to all live events related to creative industries, multimedia, cultural and heritage events as well as indoor busking (specifically music events held indoors at malls). The following is not an exhaustive list and event organisers may choose to improve upon the given protocol accordingly but no easing of protocol is allowed.
Disease prevention protocols and restrictions
- Event organisers and venue operators must obtain approval from the authorities such as the police, Ministry of Health and the respective city councils.
- Event organisers must collect information from all event staff and attendees for the purpose of contact tracing such as date, time, name, email address and telephone number.
- Invitations and ticket sales must be through a contactless method of ticketing, invitation or prior registration.
- Attendees 12 years of age and below, and above 60 years of age are not allowed to attend/participate in any physical events.
Health Screening, report and safety on premises/at venues
- Event organisers must conduct screening to detect any COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, cough, flu, sore throat, breathing difficulties among event staff before entering the venue premises.
- Event organisers must prepare devices to check body temperature such as a thermal scanner and conduct temperature screening of all event attendees before they enter the premises.
- Event staff and attendees with a body temperature above 37.5º Celcius or showcase any COVID-19 symptoms (stated above) are NOT ALLOWED to enter the premises and are advised to visit the nearest clinic or hospital.
- Event staff and attendees must register and download the MySejahtera app for the purpose of contact tracing
Emergency response
- Event organisers are required to collect staff and attendees’ information to assist the authorities in identifying people who might have been exposed to COVID-19, if any one individual or more fall ill after the event.
- Event organisers must bear all costs of cleaning and disinfection of the venue premises
Cleaning and disinfection of venue/premises
- Event venue/premises must undergo cleaning and disinfection, before and after the event as well as a minimum of three (3) times a day, especially upon public amenities within the premises.
- All tools, costumes, and props must be cleaned and disinfected, before and after the event.
- Event organisers must provide hand sanitizer at the entrance of the premises and for all public amenities as well as encourage the usage of hand sanitizer and face mask among event staff and attendees.
Social distancing etiquette and safety procedures
- Event organisers must ensure social distancing efforts be abided by at all times within the premises, by marking a one (1) meter distance between seats.
- Event organisers must provide designated seating for attendees in accordance to the one (1) meter social distancing guideline and monitor as such that it is adhered to throughout the event duration.
- Staff and attendees are NOT ALLOWED to sit on the marked chairs for social distancing.
- Free seating or public entry without prior registration is NOT ALLOWED.
- Before the event commences, event organisers must conduct a briefing regarding the protocols such as designated entrance and exits and reinforce the safety procedures to staff and attendees.
- Attendees must enter and exit the venue premises in an orderly fashion according to their designated seating arrangements, especially in concert halls with large seating rows.
- Event organisers must have sufficient staff to ensure social distancing guidelines are met and ensure social distancing practices are contactless such as alternative greetings
- Event organisers must display reminders regarding COVID-19 prevention steps on screens, posters and signages throughout the public areas of the venue.
Meetings and discussions
- Should there be any meetings and discussions, event organisers need to adhere to social distancing efforts and take into consideration the size of the meeting/ discussion room.
Location and duration of events
- Events/Programs are only allowed to be organised within controlled areas (taped areas) which can control the capacity of the attendees as well as the premises entrances and exits.
- Event organisers should minimise the event duration by reducing the breaks in between or continue with the event/program without any break periods.
The above is a translated version of the guidelines, originally published in Bahasa Malaysia by the Malaysian National Security Council on 24 June 2020. The full and original list of SOPs can be found at https://asset.mkn.gov.my/web/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/06/10.b-SOP-PAWAGAM-INDUSTRI-KREATIF_-24-JUN-2020.pdf. For more information regarding the rules and regulations of hosting a physical event in Malaysia, organizers can visit https://www.mkn.gov.my
