KUCHING: Total economy shutdown will affect the economy badly, said Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak chairman Mohammad Ibrahim Hamid.
“I agree that the movement control order (MCO) is sufficient provided that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) are fully adhered to and strictly followed.
“However, total lockdown and shutting down the economy will badly affect our current economy and it will take a long time for it to recover. At the very least, let the economy in the country still be in play despite the MCO,” said Ibrahim when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune today (Jan 24).
Recently, the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurocham Malaysia) issued a letter to its members which mentioned that the Ministry of Health (MOH) ‘has made a clear stand on the matter of a complete shutdown of the economy’ after Feb 4 if the number of Covid-19 cases in the nation continue to worsen.
He also mentioned that the people are the makers so they should follow the SOPs and practise the new norm to curb the transmission of Covid-19.
Along the line, Ibrahim also in the opinion that the wage subsidy incentives should be extended as proposed by the opposition MPs.
“The business sectors in particular the SMEs will benefit a lot from this and it will be able to help them in retaining their employees.
“One month is just a short term-assistance and may not give much help to the SMEs but, if it is a three to six months period, we may be able to see the benefits in particular the cash flows in our economy and the livelihood of many affected individuals,” he added.
The proposal made by 25 opposition MPs in saying that it could remove the anxiety and bureaucracy among the SMEs almost immediately.
