THE government will soon decide on whether to extend the movement-control order (MCO) or return to the conditional MCO, said Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the decision will be made before February 4, the date after which a total lockdown was speculated.

“We will discuss and decide on the matter. As for now nothing has been decided. The director-general of health did convey the possibility of reinstating the CMCO after February 4, but so far it has not been finalised,” he said.

The February 4 date was mentioned in a leaked letter by the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurocham Malaysia) to its members about its January 22 meeting with the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

The letter stated that Putrajaya was mulling a shutdown of all economic sectors should the Covid-19 infection rate fail to drop after February 4.

The letter also said the Health Ministry had made its stand clear on the matter of a complete shutdown.

Hours after the letter was leaked, however, Eurocham denied a total lockdown was discussed during the meeting. – January 26, 2021.