State governments should obey and comply with the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Sunday.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said state governments cannot create other regulations because any rules contrary to the Federal Government’s could be revoked by itself.

"So, there is no choice. When the government announced the RMCO with the rules that will be gazetted later, the state government will have to comply. Otherwise, they cannot implement any enforcement in the absence of their own laws.

"If the Penang government, for example, refuses to carry out enforcement, federal officials can take legal action in the event of failure to comply with the SOP as federal-level laws can be implemented at the state level," he said in a daily press conference here on Monday.

He said this in response to media questions regarding Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow's statement that the state would not implement the RMCO on June 10.