Since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was on effect nationwide since March 2020 to curb COVID-19 pandemic, the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) through their media statement, expressed their gratitude to the government especially to Ministry of Health where frontliners are working tirelessly, then further reminded the initial intent of MCO is to flatten the curve and not to eradicate the virus completely.
“It’s time to make decisions based not on fear but facts. The facts are that the Malaysian mortality rate from COVID-19 is extremely low and almost all the deaths are from underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and cancer,” said MICCI President president Datuk Tan Cheng Kiat.
The 183-years old chamber cited them going through two world wars and multiple economic events and added that a prolonged MCO will have far more damage to the country’s well-being than the epidemic itself given that the death rate is exponentially lower than existing non-communicable diseases or even the common flu.
He pointed out that, “Some key mid to long term effects of prolonged MCO are irreversible damage to the country’s fiscal health, loss of reputation as a global supply chain provider, loss of confidence from foreign direct investments, delayed education of future human talents and potential loss of employment of more than a million employees”.
“In conjunction with the final lifting of the MCO, active enforcement of MOH SOP compliance, localised EMCO, border controls, social distancing and sanitary practices should continue,” added Datuk Tan Cheng Kiat.
