Resolve Covid-19 crisis to pave way for economic recovery, govt told

KUALA LUMPUR – Several opposition figures have urged the Perikatan Nasional government to resolve the ongoing Covid-19 crisis to help clear the way for measures to ensure economic recovery – including job creation to deal with unemployment.

Speaking at a Facebook Live webinar hosted by The Perspektif yesterday, former deputy defence minister Liew Chin Tong said while many Malaysians are in need of a loan repayment moratorium from financial institutions, it would only serve as a partial solution to the multi-faceted crises faced by the country.

The DAP senator said such a moratorium alone would not solve the nation’s problems if people have no income during this period.

He stressed that the nation is facing two main crises – health and economy – and failure to resolve the former would result in the nation’s economic failure.

Liew urged the government to perform more Covid-19 testing, criticising the Health Ministry’s standard operating procedures of only performing contact tracing on individuals with symptoms.

“This is not good, we must test as many individuals as possible,” Liew said.

To address the issue of lack of manpower to perform testing, Liew suggested that Putrajaya consider training jobless individuals to have gainful employment via the government’s Covid-19 contact tracing efforts.

“The government must find a way to make temporary jobs. When the economic sectors recover later, they can go back to their old professions,” he said.

“For example, we must accept that the tourism sector may not recover within 18 months. The government should give individuals in these sectors employment, which would (help to) battle the pandemic.”

Muar MP Syed Saddiq reminded that underemployment is another matter for the government to urgently tackle.

The former youth and sports minister stated that there are youths who are highly qualified in their respective professional fields but are now forced to do other work for lower pay.

He gave the example of airline pilots having to work as petty traders or delivery riders, earning an income which may not support their expenses.

He urged the government to stop politicking, and focus on “bread-and-butter issues”.

“When a government is formed based on betrayal, the government is destined to fail. The one who stabs will inevitably get stabbed too,” Syed Saddiq said.

On the issue of education, Syed Saddiq quoted former education minister Maszlee Malik’s assertion that the country risks having a “lost generation” of students who are left far behind in education because they do not have internet and computing facilites.

Syed Saddiq cited data that 37% of students do not have access to laptops for online learning.

He questioned why Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin chose to spend money on building halls, instead of providing students with the tools to participate in online learning.

“Education is the best way to release a family from the clutches of poverty. The priority of any government is education.

“The problems the people face in Muar with regards to education is a symptom of what is happening nationally. It is the government that needs to address these problems, not people like me or Ustaz Ebit Lew,” Syed Saddiq added.

Syed Saddiq was referring to his effort to raise funds for the “1 Family, 1 Laptop” programme in his constituency and Ustaz Ebit Lew’s initiative to provide 100 tablets for students to attend online classes.

On the issue of unemployment, Pokok Sena MP Datuk Mahfuz Omar noted that based on the approval for EPF i-Sinar withdrawals there are at least 3.18 million people whose incomes have been affected by the ongoing pandemic period. 

Mahfuz went further to slam the government over calls to allow employment of undocumented people and migrants, emphasising that this is the time to hire citizens.

“Tomyam shops initially had problems when their workers were stuck in Thailand. But in the end, they resorted to hiring locals,” Mahfuz said.

The Facebook Live webinar by The Perspektif was moderated by Kubang Rotan assemblyman Asmirul Anuar Aris. – The Vibes, January 26, 2021