PUTRAJAYA’S decision to impose a full lockdown next week is better late than never, but it must also provide aid to the vulnerable groups during this period, said lawmakers.

Former transport minister Anthony Loke said the government has no choice but to implement a full lockdown given the current situation.

“It is actually quite a late decision. The signs were already there since last week but they delayed it,” Loke told The Malaysian Insight.

The Seremban lawmaker added that looking at past experience, it is unlikely that the lockdown will end in two weeks, and therefore it is important that the vulnerable groups are looked after.

“Whether it is two weeks or longer, what is important is that the government must come up with the package to ensure that the vulnerable groups, the poor and the low income are well protected.

“The government has a responsibility to shield them. Definitely the lockdown will have a great impact in terms of livelihood as the government has mentioned time and again.

“The other point is, the loan moratorium has to be brought back for all with no condition,” he said.

Umno president Zahid Hamidi agreed the decision to impose a full lockdown must come with aid for the people.

“The lockdown must come with all necessary forms of assistance. This will ensure that the economy can move despite the lockdown,” he wrote on Facebook.

Zahid, who is also the Bagan Datuk MP, added that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has borrowed RM99.3 billion.

He said the government has also raised RM115.53 billion in additional revenue from sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd and oil and gas giant Petronas.

“Why borrow if not to help the public. Help them by giving out Bantuan Prihatin 3.0, food aid, i-Sinar 2.0 or i-Lestari plus.

“Also use the emergency ordinance to allow for a moratorium since the purpose of the emergency was to curb the spread of Covid-19,” he said.

Zahid also reiterated his stance that the full lockdown should be implemented for 21 days with eight conditions.

On Twitter, opposition lawmakers Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and Maszlee Malik both called on the government to quickly announce a stimulus package to help Malaysians get through the lockdown.

“This is not the first time a total lockdown has been announced. They should not wait for ‘a time’ to announce help for the people during the lockdown.

“(The government should) give automatic moratorium, aid for B40 and M40 groups, aid for students and wage subsidies for workers,” the Muar lawmaker tweeted.

Former education minister Mazslee said a full lockdown should not only be to encourage people to stay home, but it must also consider alleviating the burden of the people.

“Lockdown is not only about asking people to stay at home. It should come along with other packages to relieve the burden of the people, especially the vulnerable ones,” he tweeted.

Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad also took to Twitter to express his support for the government’s decision, adding that the state will be announcing a stimulus package soon.

“Johor is in full support of this total lockdown and will announce its stimulus package soon”.

Meanwhile, Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar, the president of the Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association said public health experts expected the government to impose a lockdown much earlier.

“It is a right decision although a bit late. Most public health experts expected (a full lock down) to be early last week,” he said.

Dr Zainal said with the lockdown announcement, the government should tighten any loopholes and impose stricter enforcement to help bring the number of cases down.

“We hope the government will really tighten all the loopholes with stricter enforcement, and give more support, aid and services. And we really hope the rakyat will strictly follow the standard operating procedures (SOP).”

He added that if all SOP are followed, the likelihood of bringing down the number of cases in two weeks is possible.

“If we really work at it, we can see a reduction of cases.”

Earlier this evening, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Malaysia will be totally locked down from June 1 to June 14, 2021, except for essential economic and services sectors, to combat the rising Covid-19 cases.

The total lockdown, similar to the first imposed in March 2020, came as Covid-19 cases rose to 8,290 today, after three days of 7,000 cases and almost a week of 60 deaths daily.

The National Security Council will issue a list of essential economic and services sectors soon. – May 28, 2021.