A SHORTER and targeted enhanced movement control order (EMCO) to contain Covid-19 is a better option for Klang in Selangor than a full, drawn-out MCO, said local leaders.

Klang, where the country’s main port is located and a major industrial area, continues to log a high number of coronavirus cases and workplace clusters, the bulk of which are in factories.

Klang Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCCI) president Lim Kuang Sia said an EMCO would be more effective to bring down the infection numbers in Klang

“EMCO is effective in suppressing the infection rate. Short-term pain is better than long-term pain,” Lim told The Malaysian Insight.

An EMCO must also include a vaccination drive to prevent further Covid-19 outbreaks when the order is eventually lifted.

“Otherwise, the lockdown will drag on and non-essential businesses will lose even more money,” Lim said.

An EMCO is meant to isolate people within an area to enable rapid screening for Covid-19 of the community and to contain infections within the area.

Residents are not allowed to leave nor are people allowed to enter an area under an EMCO.

An MCO, meanwhile, allows certain economic sectors to operate and people to move around within a certain distance, while adhering to health and safety regulations.

Lim views the MCO as only a stop-gap measure that, unlike vaccination, does not resolve the root causes of the problem.

Hiding information

“With MCO, you may be safe after two weeks, but it (the virus) will come back again because other problems have not been resolved,” said Klang MP Charles Santiago.

“The government needs to know the actual situation on the ground now because some people are also trying to hide information.”

Pandamaran assemblyman Tony Leong agreed there were workers and employers who tried to hide their Covid-19 status.

“In Klang, many manufacturers conduct their own screenings and I have received complaints about unreported Covid-19 cases,” Leong said.

Klang municipal councillor Lee Fu Haw said it was not clear if workers who have tested positive observed the full number of days of isolation.

Lee said the Klang Municipal Council cannot do more to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the workplaces under its jurisdiction because it lacks timely information that only the federal government has.

Throughout the pandemic, he said the local elected representatives have helped councillors press the federal health department for Covid-19 information. After many requests, the federal authority has agreed to furnish the local reps with a monthly report.

“(The federal government) is not updating the local governments, which slows down the local governments’ ability to to respond,” Lee said.

The municipal council’s work to fight Covid-19 is currently limited to checking for SOP compliance, working with law enforcers and delivering aid.

The federal government provides the local authorities with data on workplace clusters, which Lee said the latter needs to take preventive measures.

“The federal, state and local governments must cooperate.”

He urged Putrajaya to decentralise information and share data with the state governments if it wishes to successfully end the virus outbreak.

Vaccination priority

Lee said Klang should have priority for vaccination because it is home to many factory and port workers.

But when he proposed this to the Selangor health department, he was told that vaccination was the prerogative of the federal government.

“Many factories here are providing essential services. We are also a port, and we cannot afford to stop transport, customs clearance and related services.”

Lim of KCCCI said he has asked Selangor executive councillor Teng Chang Khim to persuade the Selangor government to give factories in Klang vaccination priority.

“The business community needs to pressure and push the government on vaccination.

“It is a cheaper solution than more economic losses and handing out government subsidies,” said Lim. – June 22, 2021.