KUALA LUMPUR: The conditional movement control order (CMCO) which begins on Monday as announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin yesterday is good news to Malaysians who have been confined to their homes for almost two months.
The permission given to large sections of the economic and business sector to operate as well allowing various activities, subject to tight standard operating procedures (SOP), was something that the people had been waiting for, especially those whose income had been affected by the movement control order (MCO).
During that time, besides those who lost their jobs, there were also many people whose salaries were cut when their employers could no longer bear the losses incurred after the country was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Muhyiddin said the government was also affected by losses amounting to RM2.4 billion a day throughout the MCO period, with an estimated total loss of RM63 billion so far.
If the MCO goes on for another month, Malaysia is reported to incur a further RM35 billion loss, bringing the total to RM98 billion and this will surely have adverse effects on the country’s economy which will take a long time to recover.
The reactions from the public towards the imposition of the CMCO have been varied and although many have been supportive and understood the decision made by the government, there were also those who expressed concern that the move would cause the number of positive Covid-19 cases to surge again.
Each action taken by the government would surely have been made after intense discussions with the Health Ministry and other relevant ministries to find ways to balance the need to revive the economy and the need to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The government has clear plans which use six core strategies including the measures to control the spread of Covid-19 by implementing the MCO and introducing the Prihatin economic stimulus package to help the people and boost the economy.
The other strategies to be taken are introducing economic recovery measures while dealing with the new normal, revitalising the economy in a comprehensive manner for continuity and reforming economic structures.
The government is now in the third stage of reopening the economic activities nationwide in a controlled and careful manner, followed by a strategy to revitalise the economy; with comprehensive empowerment, and reforming the economic structure to face changes in lifestyle due to the ‘new normal’.
This is why the government has set various tight SOP for all business sectors which will be operating, as well as encouraging the public and private sectors to observe new normal work practices including allowing employees to work from home and introducing a daily work rotation schedule in order to curb the spread of Covid-19.
So the public should comply with the measures taken by the government and help the frontliners by observing the SOP to prevent the return of the pandemic.
Observe social distance, wash your hands regularly, use masks, immediately report to the Health Department if you have information about Covid-19 infections, and protect the groups of people at risk such as children, babies, senior citizens and the handicapped.
Do not get so excited with the leeway allowed by the government as to become complacent, because it is not impossible that the number of positive Covid-19 cases can increase again as happened in Germany and in Hokkaido, Japan. – Bernama
