KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 13): The Government has relaxed the standard operating procedure (SOP) under the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) by allowing three people to travel in one vehicle, compared with two previously.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the rule which would take effect immediately, referred to individuals living in the same household.

"This decision was made after we heard the views and also the public's request to increase the number of passengers in private vehicles from the same house, even though the police had previously given flexibility at their discretion.

"This is also to facilitate the police in enforcement, and to standardise it with the number of people allowed in taxis and e-hailing vehicles," he said during his daily press conference here today.

However, Ismail Sabri said the discretionary power of the police still applied if there were more than three individuals in a vehicle for certain circumstances such as travelling with children or senior citizens.

On celebrations for Deepavali which falls tomorrow, Ismail Sabri said the authorities would patrol the housing and village areas to ensure the public comply with the set SOP.

He explained that in an Enhanced Movement Control Area (EMCO), only members of the same household can celebrate together, while in the CMCO area, close neighbours are also allowed, provided they do not exceed 20 people at a time.

For the prayer ceremony in temples, only 30 people are allowed at a time, subject to the size of the temple, and physical distancing must be observed during the five prayer sessions allocated from 7am till noon.

"The SOP in conjunction with this celebration is the same as during Hari Raya Aidilfitri, so I do not want certain parties to say that we are putting pressure and making it difficult to celebrate Deepavali by restricting movement.

"We do not differentiate between races and religions when introducing SOPs, because even during Hari Raya Aidiladha, the public was bound by the same SOP," he said.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said the police arrested 379 individuals for violating the Movement Control Order yesterday, while 27 illegal immigrants and a skipper were detained under Ops Benteng.