By Doreenn Leong
THE government is likely to extend the movement control order (MCO), which is supposed to end on April 14, to at least April 21. An announcement on this is scheduled to be made tomorrow, April 10.
“Word has it that the Customs Department has been told that the MCO will likely be extended to April 21,” says a source.
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said recently although the second phase of the MCO would end in a few days, the government had yet to decide whether to extend it or not.
The first phase of the MCO, which began on March 18, was announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and was further extended to April 14 from March 31.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said the Health Ministry would recommend whether an extension of the MCO was needed.
Further extension will not augur well for businesses, which are badly affected by the shutdown of their operations. However, many of the business owners understand the move to extend the MCO if needed.
For instance, Klang Chinese Chamber of Commerce president Tan Sri Lim Kuang Sia said if not properly curtailed, Covid-19 can cause worse devastation than a loss in business.
He told The Star that the priority is to stop the virus from spreading. They stand to lose everything if we fail to do that.
Likewise, Entrepreneurs Association of Little India Klang secretary D Sivapathasegaran said his organisation was also supportive of the MCO.
“We understand that losses and damage will be greater if we don’t win this battle against Covid-19,” he said.
Even the public are cognizant of the importance of breaking the infection chain.
About 88% of people polled by the National Security Council agree to an extension of the MCO.
The poll, registered on the NSC’s public Telegram channel on April 9 has polled 222,378 people as at noon today.
Similarly, a survey run by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) revealed that a large number of respondents believed that an extension of the current MCO is necessary to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The survey was conducted on Bernama’s social media platforms for two days from April 7. The majority of the respondents strongly agreed that the MCO should be extended beyond April 14.
A poll on Bernama’s Facebook page has garnered over 26,300 votes (at the time of writing), with 86% of respondents wanting an extension.
Meanwhile, 82% of the 2,759 voters on Bernama’s Twitter platform were in favour of an extension.
According to Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, as of noon on April 9, there were 109 new cases reported, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 4,228. There were 121 recovery cases, bringing the number to 1,608 patients who have fully recovered and discharged from hospital. Two deaths were reported, bringing the total death cases due to Covid-19 to 67.
At his 5pm press conference today, Dr Noor Hisham said he will meet with epidemiologists and forecasters to project the track of the pandemic at 6pm today (April 9). It may be likely that he will need more time to make a full analysis.
According to the data released by NSC, there are currently 20 red zones in Peninsular Malaysia, with Selangor being the worst affected area with 1,020 Covid-19 positive patients, which accounted for about 25.7% of the total of 3,963 cases recorded as at April 7.
The state also has five of its nine districts categorised as “red zones” or districts where more than 41 cases have been recorded.
The five districts that are red zones in Selangor: Hulu Langat (345), Petaling (306), Klang (123), Gombak (111) and Sepang (46), as of the latest data on April 7.
Several roads in the direction of Mutiara Damansara, Flora Damansara and Damansara Perdana will be closed by the police from April 10 until the end of the MCO period.
This has caused panic buying among the residents in the affected area. According to a resident at Damansara Perdana, items at a nearby supermarket have already been snapped up, especially vegetables, bread and eggs.
He had to queue for around 30 minutes before being allowed to enter the supermarket.
The increase in the number of red zones is another indication that the MCO may be extended, sources said. — April 9, 2020
