‘Govt made right decision’

Experts: Tightening SOP better than implementing MCO

PETALING JAYA: The government is moving in the right direction by choosing to tighten certain standard operating procedure (SOP) instead of reverting to a blanket nationwide movement control order (MCO), say experts.

Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah said as Covid-19 cases were now mainly localised in three states – Sabah, Kedah and Selangor – the government’s stand not to reintroduce a nationwide MCO at the moment was reasonable.

“This is the right move because despite the rising number of cases, the government has been able to identify the infections and take action.

“Imposing the MCO nationwide like what was done previously should only be a last resort if the cases spread exponentially and cannot be contained.

“The MCO affects livelihoods and the economy.

“A second MCO could be disastrous for everybody,” he said when contacted yesterday.

If the Health Ministry could continue to contain Covid-19 cases at the district level and introduce a targeted MCO at those affected areas, then the risk of infections spreading would be lowered, said Dr Raj Kumar.

Yesterday, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government would not impose the MCO nationwide for now despite the recent spike in Covid-19 cases as the increase was recorded by certain states and not the whole country.

Instead, Ismail Sabri said the government would focus on areas classified as red zones instead of an entire state or district.

Also yesterday, an inter-district travel ban took effect in Sabah, the state with the highest number of Covid-19 cases, with the restriction ending on Oct 16.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Prof Datuk Dr M. Subramaniam, too, was in favour of cross-border restrictions that would ban movements by people from high-risk areas to lower-risk areas for the moment.

He, however, cautioned the people against adopting a lax attitude towards the SOP, which might necessitate a return of the nationwide MCO.

“I believe that in deciding not to reintroduce the MCO now, the government has taken into consideration the difficulties faced by the people during the MCO earlier this year.

“At the moment, what the government is doing is fine, but it all ultimately depends on the people.

“We relaxed a little and now cases are spreading like wildfire.

“If people continue to ignore the SOP, I think the return of the MCO is imminent,” he warned.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said the country cannot afford another MCO as the government had already funnelled a total of RM305bil into various economic stimulus packages.

“At this point, what the government is doing is the right move for the industries because a second MCO would result in irreversible damage to our economy and businesses.

“The government has already used up many resources to provide economic stimulus packages and if we were to have another MCO, how will the economy be sustained?” he asked.

The measures taken by the government, including to tighten the SOP and impose targeted approaches, were good enough to handle the Covid-19 crisis currently, Soh added.

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan also said the country cannot afford to have another strict MCO.

“At least with the current stance taken by the government, the economy can move forward, but of course, we need to take extra precaution now because infections are increasing.

“We hope that employers and employees alike will abide by the SOP to curb the spread of the disease,” he said.