GEORGE TOWN – Workers in Malaysia will not accept a proclamation of emergency due to its ripple effects on the economy and investor confidence, said Penang MTUC.
A state of emergency of any kind will impact the livelihood of workers, Penang MTUC secretary K. Veeriah said in a statement today.
He added that it will be the final nail in the coffin of the nation’s economy, attesting to what some leaders had expressed earlier.
“Between the survival of the political establishment and the millions of the nation’s citizenry, conscience ought to dictate that a state of emergency is not the solution.
As a loyal subject, I hope the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers will offer kind advice to politicians to refrain from taking such a move.”
“There is no reason and necessity to declare a state of emergency in the country as the Malaysian workforce is undergoing retrenchment, pay cuts, unpaid leave, deductions of annual leave and plant closures, on top of all financial difficulties as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.”
An emergency rule will continue to exacerbate the economic woes when investors put on hold millions of badly needed injection of investment capital, he said.
“On the ground, workers are facing uncertainties. Downsizing, deferment of contractual payments and salary adjustments are the new normal.”
He added that the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers projected a recovery period of up to two years while the Malaysian Employers Federation had estimated job losses of about two million due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Those projections were made before the current proposed emergency proclamation. – The Vibes, October 25, 2020
