Matters of public health and prevention of diseases do fall under the concurrent list, ninth schedule of the federal constitution.However, if any state law is inconsistent with a federal law, the federal law shall prevail and the state law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void, according to Article 75 of federal constitution.
Section 1 clearly provides that it shall apply throughout Malaysia. The movement control orders are all regulated under Act 342 – section 11 – and are therefore federal laws and apply throughout Malaysia. There are no state laws on public health and prevention of diseases except Sabah’s Public Health Ordinance 1960 which was not repealed by Act 342 and remains in force.
Even so, the ordinance makes several references to Act 342.