When the government announced the standard operating procedures (SOPs) last week, there was major backlash.

Many felt that the SOPs were illogical, and they were those who slammed the government for overlooking the Chinese culture:

The government knew they made a mistake, and they're attempting to fix it.

New day, new SOPs

On Sunday (7 February), the government released a revised list of SOPs for the Chinese New Year celebrations.

According to The Star Online, the revision was made after Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob chaired a technical meeting with the National Security Council (NSC) on Sunday.

Here's what's new with the new SOPs:

Reunion dinners

• Reunion dinners are now allowed on CNY eve, which falls on 11 February
• Reunion dinners are limited to just 15 family members
• The family members must be living within a 10km radius
• Interstate or cross border travels are still not allowed

Prayer at temples

• Prayer activities are now allowed at temples on 11, 12 and 13 February
• Temples can only operate from 6am to 2pm only
• There's a limit of just 30 people on-site
• Each prayer session is limited to just 30 minutes, with another 30 minutes of sanitisation activities
• Face masks must be worn at all times, and physical distancing must be ensured

Now that the SOPs have been revised, Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Sadique has urged Malaysians to comply to them.

“They are also reminded to maintain good hygiene and ensure physical distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country, ” she was quoted as saying.

To ensure that the SOPs are adhered to, Halimah told the news portal that unity officers will be deployed to monitor the situation.

Controversial SOPs

The revised SOPs came in wake of calls by several Chinese groups, including MCA, for a review as many found the ruling to be illogical.

In the initial ruling, only family members living under the same roof can have reunion dinners and prayer sessions.

House-to-house visits and cross-border travels are also prohibited, and prayers at temples are also not allowed, except for five of the temple's committee members.

On the same day the CNY SOPs were announced, Ismail Sabri also announced that three business activities will now be allowed to operate beginning Friday (5 February).

Hair salons, car wash premises and yes, even pasar malam, can now stay open until 10pm daily.

The announcement drew massive flak from Opposition lawmakers, who questioned the logic and sensibility in allowing pasar malam to open till late at night but barring family members from getting together to have their customary reunion dinners.

Now that the list of SOPs has been revised, stay safe during the fesitivities yeah, guys?