KUALA LUMPUR – Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called on the government to go “all out” in imposing a stricter movement control order (MCO), instead of wasting more days under the ongoing MCO 2.0.
He took to Facebook today to comment on the meeting summary between the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) and the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurocham) on “a shutdown/strict lockdown” post-February 4.
He said Covid-19 cases are expected to spike because the sectors that make up the largest clusters are the same sectors allowed to operate as usual under the MCO 2.0.
“If MCO 3.0 occurs, other unrelated sectors have sacrificed 23 days for MCO 2.0 and how are they going to claim their losses?
“Why not implement MCO strictly without any relaxation during MCO 2.0 as suggested by me and many others?
“Why only propose to do so after MCO 2.0 with 23 days already wasted?”
As such, Najib said if the government wants to execute MCO in its strictest form by halting factories and construction sectors, it should do so immediately.
“Do not delay and force the people to suffer for a long time under the MCO.”
The meeting summary on February 22 stated among others that Miti secretary-general Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali, who chaired the meeting, had informed Eurocham that the Health Ministry (MOH) has made a clear stand on the matter of a complete shutdown of the economy.
“With 99 Covid-19 clusters related to manufacturing out of more than 300 in the country, MOH believes that the manufacturing sector is the main source of infections.
“Construction was also mentioned, but since not under the purview of Miti, we did not discuss the sector in detail. Should the infection rate not decrease, the Malaysian government will announce a shutdown/strict lockdown immediately after February 4, 2021.
“This is the current situation we are facing and Miti is appealing to all companies, foreign and local, to join the effort in reducing infections, breaking the chain (of infection), to keep the economy open for business,” the document read. – The Vibes, January 24, 2021
