I laud and welcome the government’s effort to safeguard the people’s livelihood and protect small business during one of the most troubling times in our nation’s history.

None of this comes easy, and to provide relief for society’s most urgent and pressing problems requires tremendous political will and empathy. This burden is further augmented by the losses we are shouldering and the uncertainties yet to come.

However, I would like to bring the government’s attention to the construction industry players that play a significant role in our economy. It seems that on top of their obedience to the MCO, which has weighed them with unfathomable losses, their urgent plea for help has been glossed over. This does not mean that construction players need monetary relief, rather, the government could help by enforcing a blanket temporary relief from contractual obligations to all construction and construction-related companies throughout this pandemic. The impact of this pandemic has severely undermined the ability of them to fulfil contractual obligations. 

The government should take a leaf out of Singapore’s book in helping businesses and individuals. The island republic is introducing a temporary measure bill to provide relief from contractual obligations for a prescribed period. The bill will prohibit a contracting party from taking legal actions against the non-performing party throughout the prescribed period. This bill is far reaching and does not apply to just construction companies under contract. Having a temporary measure like this enforced by the government will help individuals and businesses from further depleting their cash reserves during this non-performance period. 

Since invoking a force majeure clause or the common law doctrine of frustration will have a high bar to success, parties should take careful advice before pursuing either one. – April 8, 2020.

* Mohamed Khaled Nordin is Umno vice-president. He reads The Malaysian Insight.