THE enhanced movement control order (EMCO) for the urban and industrialised areas in Selangor and parts of Kuala Lumpur is a one-size-fits-all approach that will have a deleterious effect on businesses, said industry groups.

The EMCO, which began yesterday and ends July 16, may cause more non-essential sectors to close down, said the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM).

ACCCIM Small and medium enterprises (SME) committee chairman Koong Lin Loong said strict restrictions should only be enforced in the spots where Covid-19 cases are high.

“We really need to see the Covid-19 data to find out exactly where cases are numerous. We can’t enforce restrictions across all areas which will worsen the situation for businesses,” Koong said. 

Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Kuala Lumpur & Selangor (KLSCCCI) president Ng Yih Pyng said businesses in Selangor were already struggling under the MCO in June. 

“Now there’s the EMCO which will worsen the whole economy,” Ng said.

He said the full lockdown in June has failed to contain the coronavirus outbreak and allow businesses reopen.

“Vaccination is our only way out, and the government must accelerate its vaccination effort.

“Companies are willing to cooperate. As long as the government can provide vaccines, the business community can cooperate. Only when herd immunity is achieved will we see the number of virus cases come down.”

Factories are allowed to operate under the MCO. Under the EMCO, however, only essential sectors may open for business.

Ng said Selangor as the country’s economic hub should be given priority for vaccination. Hr urged for the national immunisation drive to be completed in the state as soon as possible.

Koong agreed vaccination needs to be ramped up.

The government aims to fully inoculate 10% of the population by the middle of the month. Eight million doses of vaccine have been administered since the start of the immunisation programme in late February, and 12 million more doses are expected to be delivered this month.

The government has also launched a parallel vaccination programme called Pikas in collaboration with the private sector to vaccinate factory workers.

As of July 2, 7.5% of the population have received two vaccine doses and 18.7% have had one.

Economic recovery delayed

Associate professor at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Wong Chin Yoong said that economic recovery will likely be pushed further back to September.

Third-quarter economic figures will also be  affected by the full lockdown and EMCO, Wong said. 

Putrajaya’s prediction of 6% economic growth this year may also not be achievable and growth is more likely to be at 4%, he said.

Figures could still be positive for the export and manufacturing sectors, but domestic industries such as retail, hotel, and tourism-related sectors are expected to shrink in the third quarter, Wong said.

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive officer Tricia Yeoh said Malaysians are deeply unhappy about the government’s pandemic control measures. 

Even after a month of strict lockdown, daily Covid-19 cases remain at 6,000 to 7,000.

“The government needs to decide to choose one of two possible strategies, either a full lockdown (because of the occasional community infections) or targeted measures,” she said. 

People feel the lockdown now is “too little too late”, and that it should have been implemented after Sabah elections last year and before Hari Raya. 

And if the government chooses to introduce targeted measures, it needs to achieve data transparency and sharing, including identifying the proportion of daily spread in various locations. 

This will require the government to analyse the relevant data at the same time, Yeoh said. 

“If the government cannot analyse, then share it with the public or let researchers like us do it.”

By refusing to choose between a complete lockdown and targeted measures and trying to do both simultaneously, the government has failed to contain the crisis while safeguarding livelihoods, she added.

The result is “half baked” measures that have failed to achieve either.

“A total lockdown must be ‘total’ to ensure that this is the last lockdown that our country needs to experience.

“This is a low point in our country’s history. We need strong and stable political leaders. We don’t have that at the moment, and that makes such a difference in pandemic management,” Yeoh said. – July 4, 2021.