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KUALA LUMPUR: The government has no plan to once again implement the Movement Control Order (MCO) nationwide despite the current spike in Covid-19 cases as it could lead to the collapse of the country’s economy, said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said the government would instead implement the Targeted Enhanced Movement Control Order, or TEMCO, in areas identified as having a high number of Covid-19 cases.
“So far we have not considered implementing a nationwide MCO or a total lockdown.
“The measure, if it were implemented again, could have a major impact that we’re afraid would destroy the country’s social system and economy,” he said in a special televised address yesterday on the latest Covid-19 situation.
The prime minister said by implementing TEMCO, the economic and social activities in other areas will not be affected and can continue as usual by practising stringent standard operating procedures (SOP) and having strict law enforcement.
His special address came as the number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia continued to rise yesterday with 691 new cases – the highest daily tally since the pandemic hit the country – and four deaths recorded.
The latest spike in infections brought the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in the country to 13,504, with the number of active cases rising to 2,936.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said he believed the preparedness of the country’s healthcare system would enable the latest surge in infections to be contained without Malaysia having to shut down its economic sectors as previously done.
“So far, the economic recovery process has proceeded smoothly.
“Whatever decision taken must take into account the interests of the country’s 15 million workers. This is to ensure their continued survival as well as the nation’s economic stability,” he said.
Malaysia’s economy dipped 17.1 per cent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020 as the country went into lockdown with strong enforcement to stem the spread of Covid-19.
In Q2 of 2019, the country recorded a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 4.9 per cent.
Malaysia imposed the MCO on March 18 this year which was then eased to the Conditional MCO on May 4 followed by the Recovery MCO from June 10 to Dec 31, 2020, during which the economy gradually opened up.
Bank Negara Malaysia has revised its 2020 GDP growth forecast to -5.5 to -3.5 per cent, from -2 to 0.5 per cent previously, as the initial assumption was based on a lockdown period of only four weeks instead of seven weeks.
The economy is expected to recover and post a growth of 5.5 per cent to 8.0 per cent in 2021.
In order to stimulate the economy, the government has so far announced stimulus packages worth RM305 billion, the most recent one being the additional assistance under the RM10 billion Prihatin Supplementary Initiative Package (Kita Prihatin) in line with efforts to boost economic recovery.
The Kita Prihatin package is an extension of the previous economic stimulus packages, namely Prihatin, Prihatin SME Plus and Penjana worth a total of RM295 billion, or about 20 per cent of the nation’s GDP, with an additional fiscal injection totalling RM45 billion by the government.
There are already signs of recovery in the country’s economy as several indices, namely the wholesale and retail sector, industrial production, exports and credit card spending, are experiencing a notable improvement.
Source: https://www.theborneopost.com/2020/10/07/no-return-to-mco-muhyiddin/