Needed: a law to mobilise production of medical gear

Covid-19 has spread to Malaysia at lightning speed, exposing the country seriously. An overwhelmingly unexpected example can be found in reports that front-line doctors in Malaysia have resorted to making alternative personal protective equipment (PPE) from trash bags.

A crucial key to unlocking Malaysia’s latent capability to produce such needed equipment is legislation. It can be adapted from the United States’ Defense Production Act, which was passed in 1950 during the Korean War.

This law allows the US president to authorise businesses to concentrate on producing essential items while prohibiting hoarding and profiteering.

Malaysia might need such an Act. Let us call it the Pandemic Production Act (PPA). This Act should focus strictly on the production of essentials, and allow for a swift response to national emergencies and avoid shortages of items essential for the safety, health and wellbeing of Malaysians.

The PPA should allow the government, working in close consultation with experts from non-governmental organisations, related professions, academia and commerce, to quickly and appropriately designate what should be classified as essential goods and services.

It should focus on the procurement and supply chains of businesses to keep essential food and beverage value chains going. The government should establish clear chains of command for Malaysia to marshall all resources to fight a pandemic.

The proposed PPA should allow quick flexible changes to production volumes, composition of goods and services, and lead times.

The government could offer incentives, such as tax exemptions and grants, as well as to invoke patriotism to further motivate companies to consider favourable any call for readjustments. While additional training would be required, the retooling of businesses should also mean that many could keep their jobs during a pandemic.

The PPA should provide adequate mandatory powers for the government to address hoarding and profiteering. Protection of the poor and the marginalised shall be crucial if social stability is to be achieved. Strong anti-profiteering and enforceable clauses should be considered by the government.

The PPA should protect workers through wage support or wage stabilisation, and public participation in the fine-tuning of occupational, environmental, and health measures. Such a move will require close coordination between the finance ministry and the health ministry.

The PPA should only be invoked during national emergencies by a two-third majority of Parliament, and with royal assent. There should be checks and balances that inclusively allow the participation of civil society and the mass media.

The key to implementing the Pandemic Act successfully is partnership rather than through brute dictatorship. Through clear communication channels and a shared objective, we can mobilise and coordinate all resources towards a national mission, and to avoid duplication or demand-supply deficits, which shall help us launch a comprehensive all-society approach to fighting Covid-19.

Professor Dr Rajah Rasiah is a professor of economics at the University of Malaya, and Dr Khor Swee Kheng is a physician and public health specialist. - FMT