KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s decision to allow almost all economic sectors and business activities to resume today does not mean that all need to reopen immediately, says Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (pic).
Employers, said Saifuddin, could choose whether to resume operations or wait after the end of the fourth phase of the movement control order (MCO) on May 12.
The government, he said, put today as the date to resume operations because it did not want the situation to “explode” on May 12.
“So, it is best to grant this permission now.
“This does not mean that every business will resume operations on that day but we are giving the date for traders, factories or companies to make necessary preparations as they have to adhere to strict standard operating procedure (SOP), ” he said on the Borak Kopitiam programme on TV3 yesterday.
He said this was also due to the fact that it would not be easy for businesses to resume operations as each sector had its own set of SOP, including providing hand sanitisers, face masks and training their employees.
Saifuddin said it was important for the community, especially traders and workers, to remember that the MCO directives were still in place.
“So, if you have to go to work, then go but you must remember that we are still in the MCO period, ” he said.
In the event that the conditional MCO did not work out as planned, Saifuddin said the government was ready to face any possibility, adding that the decision was made with the utmost consideration and care.
“In the event of a spike (in positive cases), the emergence of a certain cluster, we will declare the area as a red zone and will stop all activities in that area, ” he said.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin announced on Friday that the government would implement the conditional MCO today. — Bernama
Source : https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/05/04/businesses-do-not-need-to-rush-to-reopen-says-saifuddin