Ismail: It's not just tycoons who suffer, all employees will

Senior Minister (security cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the resumption of economic activities was not just meant to help big business but employees in general.

"Many are saying that 'those who are experiencing losses (due to movement restrictions) are the big tycoons. Why should we care about the tycoons?

"We forget, however, that if these big companies close down, all of their employees will lose their jobs. So it is not just the big tycoons who are affected," said Ismail (photo) to NST in an exclusive interview.

Ismail said the government had predicted more than one million Malaysians would lose their jobs if the economy was not reopened.

"How are we supposed to help them if we kept the companies closed? More will lose their jobs," he said.

Ismail said he was sad to see people queuing at pawn shops. He said many small businesses had run out of reserves after shutting down from the movement control order (MCO) period.

"It's been a month, what other sources of income do they have? Because of all this, the government decided that we have to start thinking about the economy on top of health.

"There has to a balance between the health of the economy and the people. This is why we came to this decision and it wasn't made hastily.

"At the same time, we put in place plans to ensure that we are prepared for any eventuality," he said.

On May 4, Putrajaya had reopened the economy by means of the conditional MCO gazette which stipulated far fewer movement restrictions.

Schools will continue to be closed and most inter-state travels are still banned. Any business or activity which entails large gatherings are also banned.

Ismail said the reopening of the economy was not rushed as the banning of business sectors were lifted gradually over the weeks.

"We did not allow everything at once. I understand that the people are worried and we took this into account.

"There are also strict standard operating procedures in place. As soon as there is a positive case, the business will be shut down," he said.

He said the reopening of the economy has not brought chaos to the country and Malaysians have proven that they have the discipline to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

"In the light rail transit trains, social distancing was practised. In boutiques, people did not try on clothes or shoes.

"Business premises took body temperatures and made hand sanitisers available. People queued up to enter shops.

"Many people had been concerned over the conditional MCO and criticised it, saying there would be havoc and chaos, however, this did not happen.

"Perhaps only a few cases but overall, the situation is under control. This is why self-regulation is crucial," he said. - Mkini