In fact, as a result of that, the Ministry of Health detected that 12 new COVID-19 clusters were cause by Hari Raya travels.
So, it makes you wonder: if the checks were so thorough, how did these Malaysians slip past police checks and went back to their kampung for Raya?
Well, don't ask our Minister, because he doesn't know too.
A spike in cases in Terengganu
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said during a press conference quoted by Malay Mail that he has no idea how some Malaysians managed to slip past police checks during the Hari Raya period.This came after Terengganu health director Dr Nor Azimi Yunus revealed that several Malaysians, including two who had returned from Johor, had visited relatives and friends during the holiday and infected at least 24 other people.
No thanks to the infections, Hulu Terengganu has now officially been categorised under the red zone.
Ismail Sabri said he has yet to receive a detailed report on that matter from the police, but he has one theory: Malaysians have been misusing their work travel documents issued by the Ministry of Industry and International Trade (Miti).
"Maybe, as I was informed by the police, some people have used letters from Miti or some have made reports of emergencies happening in their hometowns.
"So maybe some were let through, although the letters were not supposed to be used for the purpose of Hari Raya.
"However, regarding the specific case in Terengganu, I have not gotten detailed information from the Terengganu police," he was quoted as saying.
Heavy traffic on highways
During the Hari Raya Aidilfitri period, several photos showing heavy traffic on major highways went viral on social media.Despite the picture proof, Bukit Aman Traffic and Enforcement Department has revealed that there were no unusual movement of vehicles at highways during the whole Hari Raya period.
Its deputy director Datuk Mohd Nadzri Hussain told New Straits Times that the observation was made based on the statistics collected by the department on Op Rentas for seven days, beginning from 10 May.
According to Mohd Nadzri, the police recorded one million less vehicles on the road during that period, compared to the same period the year before.
This year, 1,100,568 vehicles were detected on major highways during Hari Raya Aidilfitri on 13 May. Last year, 2,035,801 vehicles were detected on the highways.
"We can conclude that Malaysians have complied with the standard operating procedures (SOP) enforced throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO) this year, which among others, restricted inter-district and interstate travel," Mohd Nadzri was quoted as saying.
When the authorities are in denial like this, it is no wonder that the number of cases are spiking. Let's just pray that Malaysians have the sense to do what's right from now on.