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COVID-19 and the Movement Control Order (MCO) have severely affected the health of our people, both physically and financially.
Although we all feel the impact of the virus and the blockade, it is important to recognize that we are not all in the same boat, but we are in the same storm.
Yes, some of us are wage earners who can work from home. But there are many others who depend on a daily income.
The B40, especially those in the informal sector, manual workers, and micro SMEs, as well as those in the tourism industry, have suffered the worst from Covid-19.
However, it has been heartwarming to see Malaysia’s selfless and compassionate side shine through these difficult times.
For example, I read a report about people ordering food and drinks on delivery platforms, only to donate them to the delivery men themselves. My constituents in Jeli also informed me about the food baskets they received from anonymous people.
Many Malays, and indeed hundreds of millions worldwide, are struggling to survive. Every business day during the MCO has caused a loss of RM2.4bil to the nation, income that could mean having food on the table for some Malaysians. Many sectors of the economy have been severely affected, for example, the incomes of tourism-related industries. Like accommodation and shops, RM20bil has fallen between January and April this year.
Household consumption, the main driver of economic growth, fell approximately 50% during the MCO period. Some companies have closed the store permanently. Jobs are hard to come by. Some estimates say graduate unemployment, which stood at 3.9% last year, may triple as a result of Covid-19.
There is no perfect time to reopen the economy during a public health crisis. However, due to the heroic work of our medical personnel, we have been able to meet the six conditions established by the World Health Organization (WHO). If we didn’t, we wouldn’t have implemented the conditional MCO.
Preserving lives and livelihoods is not a responsibility that the government takes lightly.
As domestic demand increases, and the gears of our economic engine begin to function again, public health will increasingly depend on public self-discipline.
We now have a responsibility to practice measures such as social distancing and routine hand washing to prevent further outbreaks. Let’s take Taiwan as a model: Due to a high rate of compliance with security measures and PCOS, they have had low rates of Covid-19 cases despite not being locked up.
As the world runs toward a vaccine, we can use this time to identify and correct some of the structural problems in our economy.
For example, the fact that the Malaysian economy has not coexisted on the best terms with the environment became apparent, when our rivers turned green and blue during the MCO, rather than the dark brown we have become accustomed to.
In addition to the environment, other structural challenges, such as food security, our still too modest digitization, particularly in e-commerce and e-learning, our excessive dependence on foreign work and the disparity of development in different regions, need serious rethinking.
The Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department has been investigating all these issues and will incorporate them into the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP). In fact, the long-term post-Covid 19 and 12MP recovery plan will be mutually reinforcing to deal with the structural challenges of our economy. That said, not everything has been pessimism. Alhamdulillah, Malaysia has done very well relative to other nations in facing this health crisis.
The success of our measures to balance lives and livelihoods depends on strong leadership.
In this regard, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has shown decisive leadership, providing stable hands in dealing with Covid-19. Chief Health Officer Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah has also been reassuring in his daily press sessions.
Let us put aside our differences. Many Malaysians are very frustrated with current political developments, they just want the current government to continue with the government.
Protecting Covid-19 citizens and alleviating their financial difficulties should be given the highest priority. Let’s continue with that and let’s get to work.
Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed is Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the economy. The opinions expressed here are entirely the writer’s.
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