PM: MCO 'daring' move but crucial to protect Malaysians

By Nuradzimmah Daim, Nor Ain Mohamed Radhi - April 25, 2020 @ 9:37pm

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he faced a daunting task when he took office on March 1, a time when the world was grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Determined to protect the lives of the people while safeguarding their livelihood, the government implemented the Movement Control Order (MCO) as well as the Prihatin Rakyat economic stimulus package.

"We are aware that it's a perilous situation," he said, adding that the MCO had to be introduced to stem the spread of the virus.

"Today, the MCO is accepted by the people as a measure to contain (the virus). Apart from that, we were also looking at steps that could be taken by the Health Ministry's doctors, facilities to ensure that those who had contracted (the virus) would be treated, thus preventing fatalities," he said in a special TV interview with RTM and Astro Awani aired tonight.

He said the MCO, which covered travel bans, closure of schools and businesses, as well as closure of the country's borders, among others, was aimed to support efforts by the Health Ministry to curb the pandemic.

"Health is our top priority, to ensure that our citizens remain safe.

"Every death is a huge loss to the country. That's why we viewed it from the perspective of public interest, to prevent infection that would lead to a huge loss to the country. That was our first challenge.

"Our people have never experienced anything like this. I am proud that the people have been understanding despite us having no reference point on this scale."

He said compliance to the government's instructions including to stay at home, take good care of hygiene, has led to results, reflected in the decline of Covid-19 cases.

Muhyiddin said after protecting lives, the second challenge was to safeguard the people's livelihood.

The MCO, he acknowledged, has had a huge impact on the economy and the people, who have been unable to continue their daily lives.

"In a single day, we incur around RM2.4 billion in losses when there is no business. You can calculate the number of days of the MCO; how much would that be? But we have no choice but to implement the MCO as we don't want thousands of deaths."

The economic stimulus package, he said, was introduced to safeguard the livelihood of the people, including small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), which contributed between 34 and 35 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Muhyiddin also raised the question of its sustainability.

"We have implemented this package but how long can it sustain? When can the economy improve? Is there a need for other fiscal measures?

"This is a tough balancing act – to address the health issue, with RM1.5 billion allocated to the Health Ministry, while at the same time safeguard the livelihood of the people," he said.

During the interview, conducted by RTM presenter Zaleha Khairene Ismail and Astro Awani presenter Essan Yahya, the prime minister also shared his view on criticism against him and the Perikatan Nasional government.

"From the day I took office, I haven't thought of politics. People are getting tired of those kind of stories. They want to know what the government is doing to address the important issues we are facing.

"That's why in my statements or even now, I wouldn't touch on it. Or else people would say 'the Covid-19 situation is not even settled and he's talking about party, alliance, government'. People are not interested in these things and I understand that.

"(I am aware) the people want to know whether this is a functional government. This is what I want to prove, as it is the rakyat's priority.

"This is a functional government which carries out its duties."

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said the government has to adopt a long-term approach to the Covid-19 crisis as Malaysia has grown with the foundations of a strong economy.

"We can't let it collapse; that's the purpose of tax collection by the government. However, if there is no business, how could the government collect taxes with the revenue used to cover the expenses and needs of the people.

"Thus, we have no choice but to do something to support industries, businesses, and ensure that Malaysians in employment need are protected. That's my priority; to ensure that there they are not forced to be laid-off and other problems."

He said the measures in the economic stimulus package included wage subsidies for companies to ease the burden faced by employers, whose businesses had been affected by the MCO.

Others included a six-month moratorium on loan repayments by businesses and individuals.

"Those are among the follow-up measures to ensure that our economy continues to run. We have also allowed economic activities to resume in phases until we think that we can take a bigger step in the future," he said.