Umno supports 'full MCO' with eight conditions

 

Umno has given the government eight conditions to support its call for a full-scale lockdown amid the record-breaking Covid-19 numbers.

Party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the daily spike in cases has grown increasingly worrying and warrants drastic government action.

Among the eight conditions cited by Zahid include that the full Movement Control Order (MCO) must be implemented over a minimum period of 21 days, as done in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.

He said this was unlike the MCO enforced prior to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations that still allowed the economic sector to operate as normal, despite the increasing number of Covid-19 clusters.

"The government, by right, should have enforced a strict MCO by closing all economic and social sectors for 21 days.

"A half-hearted MCO will not help to reduce Covid-19 infections and this was proven by the previous MCO 2.0 and emergency declaration that did not contribute to the reduction of new cases," Zahid said in a Facebook post.

He also said the government should urge the banking sector to impose an unconditional loan moratorium of between three and six months to reduce the people's burden.

'Ensure the people's welfare is protected'

Zahid said banks throughout MCO 1.0 and MCO 2.0 were still generating profits and the government should, as such, be strict to ensure the people's welfare is being protected.

Various parties have made calls for a strict MCO following a nationwide spike in daily Covid-19 cases, with over 6,000 daily new infections since the past several days.

Two former prime ministers, Najib Abdul Razak and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, were among those who have made similar suggestions to the government.

Zahid also said assistance for the people must be increased and expedited.

"This assistance is not only focused on B40 but also on M40 and small-medium enterprise owners.

"The government must consider continuing I-Lestari and i-Sinar, while one-off assistance must be given to badly affected sections such as tourism and SMEs," he said.

For students, Zahid urged the government to expedite the distribution of its promised 150,000 units of laptops, which has yet to be fulfilled. - Mkini