SIX districts in Selangor – Hulu Langat, Petaling, Gombak, Klang, Kuala Langat and Sepang – are placed under the movement control order (MCO) from May 6 to 17 due to the surge in new COVID-19 cases in these districts.
Meanwhile, all economic sectors in the districts that are under MCO can operate as usual under existing standard operating procedures, said the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI).
It also stated that the general standard operating procedures (SOPs) for MCO 3.0 are based on the SOPS of the existing MCO, except that no dine-ins are allowed.
But while the reinstatement of the MCO does make sense, considering the recent spike in the number of cases in the six districts, the announcement and the execution is a sloppy exercise that has left a lot of room for doubt and uncertainty.
Many Malaysians have, for example, questioned the rationale of a third MCO, given the somewhat relaxed nature of the SOPs. By the looks of it, MCO 3.0 is a much more relaxed version of the first order which was implemented back in March 2020.
In fact, there are quite a few similarities between the second and third iteration of the MCO.
But here’s the thing, though: MCO 2.0 was, to put it bluntly, quite a disaster, seeing as to how it did nothing to bring down the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
On the contrary, we were still burdened by four-digit daily infections, and the number of clusters continued to show a drastic spike.
Under the current MCO 3.0, different sectors of the economy will still be allowed to operate as normal (or as normal as possible considering the circumstances).
While the first and second MCO saw a collective feeling of dread among Malaysians, the third one saw them going about their lives as usual.
To successfully bring down the numbers, more drastic measures are definitely required, even if this would mean that the country’s economy had to suffer.
As it is, people are still allowed to travel freely – with their family members in tow – just as long as they remain in their own districts, and are still allowed to visit shopping malls (just not for dine-ins).
The target, simply put, is to reduce the number of people in public places to curb COVID-19 infections. Considering the current SOPs of the MCO 3.0, there isn’t much hope of this ever happening.
Will the number of infections see a decrease at the end of MCO 3.0? Will there finally be a light at the end of the tunnel for us, or will there be just an empty stretch of darkness?
One can only pray that it is the former, because people’s lives and livelihood are at stake here. – May 6, 2021
