Ismail Sabri: Enhanced MCO not needed for entire Klang Valley

 

COVID-19 | Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has so far dismissed the need to implement a blanket enhanced movement control order (MCO) on the entire Klang Valley despite criticisms that the conditional MCO does not appear to be effective.

He said the Health Ministry is currently doing a detailed assessment of the situation and urged for patience until the results are out.

“As we know, if we implement an enhanced MCO, that means every individual cannot leave their own homes and food must be sent directly to the house. Secondly, all economic sectors have to be closed, and traders cannot do their business.

“When we say traders, people say we are protecting the big bosses, but there are traders who are living hand-to-mouth, who are dependent on their daily sales. Some are also dependent on daily wages. If the economic sectors are closed, then they will have no source of income.

“Yes, it is easier for us to control the transmission (of Covid-19) if we were to close everything, but we also need to look at its effect. Not just the economic effect on the country but also the economic effect on every individual,” said Ismail in his press conference today.

He was responding to a reporter who asked if there was a need to implement an enhanced MCO on the whole Klang Valley as some said the conditional MCO was ineffective.

He also answered similarly when asked if the whole of Sabah should be placed under enhanced MCO due to the spike in Covid-19 there.

Ismail explained that there were many localities in Sabah which were already under enhanced MCO as they are using a targeted approach.

“We do not lock down whole districts. In Sabah, one district could be as big as a state (in the peninsula),” he said.

Locking down a whole district just because of a few localities which have an increased number of cases could also affect localities with few or no cases at all, he explained.

On a separate matter, the minister addressed confusion over the two-to-a-car rule, as many questioned whether the passenger had to sit in the back seat.

He stressed that the rule only stated there should be a maximum of two in a car.

“As the Penampang police had said, as long as you are not sitting on the roof or bonnet (of the car),” he joked.

Ismail explained that the two-to-a-car limit was to reduce the number of people going out and prevent families from bringing their children out for leisure.

“The idea of two people in a car is to lessen the movement of people.

“Otherwise, shopping malls are still open and if we say you can go out as usual without restrictions, I am afraid there will be those bringing their small children to shopping malls,” he said. - Mkini