KUALA LUMPUR – As Malaysians wait with bated breath for the announcement on the tighter movement control order (MCO) later today, businesses and bosses are making a last-minute plea to the government not to impose full lockdown-style restrictions.
They say that such a move, even if it were to be exclusive to Selangor – in which the most number of Covid-19 cases have been logged – would be detrimental to both employers and employees.
Instead, they repeated their calls for stricter measures to be enforced while, at the same time, allowing the economy to operate, even if at limited capacity, and for the government to accelerate its vaccination programme.
Speaking to The Vibes, SME Association of Malaysia president Datuk Michael Kang said he has extended the association’s proposal to the government and hopes the plea will be heard.
“Yes, we plead to the government, no lockdown please. We don’t agree to it. I understand we need to take care of public health but, at the same time, businesses must run or people won’t have food on the table.”
Kang said that, among other things, the association suggested there be limited personnel in workplaces and movement be further restricted to only essential needs.
Under the current MCO 3.0, scheduled from May 12 until June 7, economic activities can run as usual while movements are allowed within the same district.
Kang said in the one week since the latest MCO came into force, 91% of SMEs surveyed claim business has dropped significantly and that most could not afford another full lockdown.
“With the experience from MCO 1.0 and 2.0, the government should have had a solution on how to manage the pandemic.
“We can understand under the first lockdown; it had no experience in managing the situation. But into the third one, it has to find a better solution,” he said.
Kang’s comments come after Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced last night that the National Security Council has agreed to tighten restrictions in economic and social sectors following an alarming spike in Covid-19 cases.
He said the decision was agreed to unanimously in an NSC meeting earlier yesterday, and that further details will be announced by Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in a press conference this evening.
Anything but total lockdown
Meanwhile, Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan similarly said a total lockdown could be devastating to the economy, and urged instead for more targeted restrictions.
“I was in a meeting with the government recently, and my message was clear: no total lockdown. But of course, I understand the need to reduce cases. Perhaps, more areas need to be placed under the enhanced MCO.
“We can accept stricter controls on the movement of people, meaning further reduction of people going to work. Anything, so long as it is not a full lockdown.”
Shamsuddin said even if the government decides to implement the lockdown in Selangor alone, this would not bode well for the economy, which has already been hard hit by the MCO.
“Nobody can deny that Selangor is the hub of the Malaysian economy, contributing more than 20% to the national gross domestic product,” he said.
On Tuesday, MEF president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman had said that any decision on the MCO must take into consideration the interests of business and preservation of livelihoods.
He also pointed out that the current MCO is estimated to cost the economy roughly RM300 million per day, compared with the total lockdown last year, which cost the country RM2.4 billion daily. – The Vibes, May 22, 2021
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