Meet with all states on easing, lifting of MCO - PKR MP tells gov't

CORONAVIRUS | The federal government should first meet with all state governments to discuss the easing and ultimately lifting of the movement control order (MCO), a PKR lawmaker said.

Parliament Federal-State Relations Select Committee chairperson Hassan Abdul Karim said the current situation, in which several states have decided not to go ahead with the conditional MCO, did not bode well for the country.

In a Labour Day address on Friday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the conditional MCO, which will involve the restarting of most economic, social and recreational activities - subject to strict regulations - from today.

However, at least six states have declared they will not be following suit and will maintain the strict MCO for the time being.

The six states are Sarawak, Sabah, Penang, Pahang, Kelantan and Kedah, while other states such as Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Perak will not allow dine-in customers at eateries and have set certain restrictions on recreational activities.

“I advise the federal government to hold a meeting with all 13 states in Malaysia before coming to any final decision on easing the MCO and reopening the economy.

“The differences in approach (between the federal and several state governments) is not good for a federation such as Malaysia,” Hassan, who is Pasir Gudang MP, said in a statement last night.

“As such, in the spirit of federalism, I urge the federal government to take into account the views and stands of the state governments before coming to the even more important decision of ending the MCO and opening all public and economic sectors soon,” he added.

In his announcement, Muhyiddin explained the decision to ease the MCO was to revitalise the economy and prevent further losses, estimated to total RM98 billion for the entire duration of the MCO.

Activities not allowed include those which entail large gatherings, body contact, and the inability to maintain social distancing, all of which will pose a risk of Covid-19 infection.

Malaysia has been on partial shutdown since March 18. This has seen most businesses and other activities ordered closed, with the exemption of essential services.

The public has also been disallowed from travelling out of their homes unless to obtain food or other necessary goods and services.

After three extensions, the current MCO period is slated to end May 12. - Mkini