Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin defended the government’s decision not to impose a full-fledged lockdown this round despite the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) recommendation, claiming that the first movement control order (MCO) imposed on 18th March last year nearly brought the country to its knees – economically.
“We had no previous experience (in dealing with a pandemic) at the time, so we shut down, despite the fact that the cases were not yet widespread. However, the economic impact was important, bordering on collapse,” Muhyiddin said during a special RTM talk interview session.
During MCO 1.0, he said, the economy was on the verge of collapsing because it cost about RM2.4 billion per day.
It’s not only about losing ringgits but it’s also about losing jobs and being unable to conduct business properly. Although the MOH claims that this is the only way to stop COVID-19 from spreading, but the country’s consequences are another story.
If a full-scale lockdown were to be imposed, the Muhyiddin stated that RM340 billion would be inadequate to re-stimulate the economy.
“Perhaps a half-billion ringgit, but do we have the funds?” We may be able to shut down the economy, but will we be able to restart it after it has most likely collapsed?
“As a result of this, we’ve found that we can’t completely shut anything off. Life is important, and I value it but I do not wish for the national economy to collapse too,” he said.
“It is not that I do not understand what the rakyat wants, but for the moment just stay safe. It’s just a matter of figuring out the best way to get through this pandemic,” he concluded.
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