THE Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has urged the government to end the movement control order (MCO) with immediate effect to stop causing further damage to the national economy and individual livelihoods.

MEF president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said the lockdown, which is from June 1 to June 28 and may continue if Covid-19 cases do not come down, has had a negative compound effect on businesses.

He added that since the first MCO in March 2020, many companies have been forced to shut down, thus causing an increase in retrenchments and loss of income.

“There has to be a reasonable balance between the saving of lives and livelihoods. The restrictions under the MCO and confusion over the standard operating procedures are killing businesses with many small and medium enterprises, and micro enterprises severely impacted.

“Employers are prepared to endure even tighter restrictions under the MCO and even higher penalties for breaking the rules to end the lockdown, but the issue of livelihoods must also be addressed.

“We urge the government to allow all sectors to operate because if the current situation continues, we risk facing very serious economic and social implications for a long time,” he said in a statement today. – June 23, 2021.

Syed Hussain also said companies in non-essential sectors could not survive and thousands would be forced to shut down should the lockdown remain enforced for much longer.

“Some of the micro enterprises and SMEs are suffering to a level beyond recovery and need urgent help,” he said, adding that companies that were allowed to operate were also facing serious issues because they depended on their supply chain for stock, but many companies in the supply chain were not allowed to operate.

“Most of all, the implications extend beyond employers to the ordinary man on the street who needs to put food on the table and meet his basic commitments.

“We need to open up and provide financial aid quickly.”

The MEF’s appeal to the government to lift the MCO follows a similar appeal yesterday by the shopping mall and retail industries nationwide.

In an open letter to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, Malaysia Retailers Association, Malaysia Retail Chain Association, Bumiputera Retailers Organisation and the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Electrical Home Appliances Dealers’ Association said that currently, up to 30% of shops in malls have been closed due to the adverse conditions of the past 16 months amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, some 300,000 people had lost their jobs, they added.

The associations said if the mall and retail industry, including street front shops, are not reopened by early July, another 50% of the remainder will be closing their doors for good. – June 23, 2021.