PRIME Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced another two weeks of the movement-control order (MCO), extending the order that began on March 18 to May 12.

That makes it eight weeks of a partial lockdown so far, and he hinted it could continue beyond May 12 if the numbers do not look good in Malaysia’s quest to flatten the curve.

The question now is, how flat does Malaysia want the curve to be before lifting the MCO? Zero?

For the past six days, new cases have been just double digits – 69 on April 17, 54 (April 18), 84 (April 19), 36 (April 20), 57 (April 21), 50 (April 22) and 71 (April 23).

Is Malaysia looking at lower numbers to lift the MCO? Can we know that magic number so we check our hopes when the prime minister appears again to announce whether the MCO is extended, loosened further or lifted?

Our admirable quest to flatten the curve, led by a competent health service under the director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, has shown some gains but has also inflicted pain in other sectors.

Yes, 95 people have died. Beyond statistics, they are loved ones of family and friends.

Yet, more are becoming jobless, having to go home with less pay and those who are paid daily have nothing unless they are in essential services. The majority who have little for emergencies and without the benefit of an Employees Provident Fund account will suffer more.

Malaysia’s first quarter economic figures might not be hit as hard due to the Chinese New Year business bump, but it has been downhill since then.

The second quarter is as good as gone and the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) yesterday projected that economic activities including trade and investment could fully rebound by the third quarter and further strengthen through 2021 in its best-case scenario.

But in the worst-case scenario, MIER said production and trade may not fully recover (about 96%-98% capacity) by the fourth quarter of 2020 and into the first quarter of 2021.

“For both scenarios, we take into account the government’s total Prihatin stimulus package of RM260 billion, with the supposition that only 20% of the non-fiscal injection (RM225 billion) will be realised into new capital formation across the economy,” MIER chairman Dr Kamal Salih said.

Privately, government sources said there could be up to two million jobless – 15% of the workforce – in the aftermath of the partial lockdown in Malaysia.

That is a lot of jobs and would also mean many businesses will close shop. Two newspapers have ceased their print editions – the evening edition of the Sin Chew Daily and and The Financial Daily’s print edition.

The Statistics Department disclosed today that Kuala Lumpur hotels have seen an 80% drop in revenue, and an occupancy rate of between 5% and 8% since the MCO began.

Among resorts and budget hotels, a 40% to 45% drop in revenue was recorded, while homestays and rest houses expected a 30% to 54% slash in earnings.

None of these hotels and resorts will gain from their food and beverage outlets that make the bulk of their revenue during Ramadan either.

The Muhyiddin government must look beyond the good work done by the Health Ministry and get cracking on providing the baseline and rules to lift the MCO and reopen the economy.

Malaysia won’t be able to have zero infections unless it tests everyone in the country, quarantines those trying to enter and gets a vaccine for Covid-19.

This means the government needs to make known its plans now instead of extending the MCO for an already restless populace angry with VIPs and children of VIPs flouting the rules.

It needs to give police and soldiers manning the roadblocks a break too. And allow medical personnel time off as it drafts more people and adds more capacity to treat those infected by the coronavirus.

In short, Putrajaya needs to balance everyone’s needs – the medical, economic and social side or Malaysia will end up with healthy people but starving for food, jobs and business.

And in the end, this has to be a political decision, not a medical one. – April 24, 2020.