INTERNATIONAL Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali has distanced himself from Putrajaya’s decision to impose enhanced movement-control order in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur while citing a World Health Organization (WHO) warning against lockdown.

Azmin, in a Facebook post, said he feels that vaccination is the correct method to address the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

“WHO has warned world economies against lockdowns due to extreme economic damage, particularly affecting those in the lower income group,” he wrote in the post, which again showed dissension in the ranks of the government.

The decision to impose an enhanced movement control order EMCO in the Klang Valley comes a day after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was taken ill with diarrhoea and admitted to hospital.

“Pragmatic and flexible approach to managing the pandemic is key to helping the nation cope with the challenges.

“At the same time, the government remains steadfast towards expediting the vaccination of the people, especially the most vulnerable groups. Herd immunity is the way forward.”

Yesterday, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that several subdistricts and localities in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur will be placed under the EMCO for two weeks from July 3-16.

The subdistricts in Selangor are in the districts of Petaling, Hulu Langat, Sepang, Gombak, Kuala Langat and Klang.

Ismail Sabri said the EMCO for these places was decided based on risk assessments whereby high infection rates are still prevalent.

Selangor has been reporting an average daily Covid-19 cases of between 1,800 and 1,900 while Kuala Lumpur had an average of 600 to 1,000 infections.

“All districts in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur reported incidence of Covid-19 cases exceeding 12.1 for every 100,000 residents,” said Ismail Sabri.

“The projected data of the infectivity rate (R-naught) in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur is still in the range of 1.0 and does not show a downward trend.”

He said all non-essential industries will have to close under the EMCO.

On Monday, Azmin said it was unfair to single out workplaces as the main contributor of new infections.

Citing data from the Ministry of Health that showed more than 75% of new cases to be sporadic, he said this also indicated that workplace clusters, specifically within the manufacturing sector, only contribute between 5% and 10% of new cases.

“Only 25% are coming from all sorts of clusters, including workplace clusters.

“So, it’s not right to place the blame on the economic sector, specifically on the manufacturing sector. Of course, when we allow certain economic sectors to open, the probability of cases to occur in these sectors would exist, unlike the education and social sector which have been shut completely,” he was quoted as saying in news reports. – July 2, 2021.