Putrajaya panned for reluctance to impose tough measures in revised MCO 3.0

 

Putrajaya has been criticised for its apparent reluctance to impose tough measures, particularly on businesses, in the revised third movement control order (MCO 3.0).

The Labour Law Reform Coalition (LLRC) said it was appalled that the revised MCO 3.0 will allow businesses to continue operating as usual.

It also noted that Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had resorted to appealing to the public to impose a "self-lockdown".

"Given that Covid-19 cases have escalated to more than 6,000 cases continuously, the only sensible move is to announce a complete lockdown and provide 80 percent wage subsidy for all workers in the formal and informal sector.

"Self-lockdown without income security is impossible for workers struggling to put everyday food on the table," said its co-chairpersons N Gopal Kishnam and Irene Xavier in a statement today.

They acknowledged that both the business community and low-income workers will be severely affected in a complete lockdown.

However, they added that a wage subsidy will ensure the income security of all workers.

"LLRC also urges the government to consider giving vaccination priority to workers involved in labour-intensive industries such as manufacturing and construction workers, since workplace clusters make up 60 percent of total new clusters.

"Lastly, the government must also ensure food security for all human beings living in Malaysia, including unemployed workers, migrant workers and refugees," they said.

Meanwhile, Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang said another record high of 6,979 new cases today was the "best answer" to the National Security Council's decision on the revised MCO 3.0.

Lim, citing a doctor friend, said the revised MCO 3.0 was done through a political lens but does not help from a medical and public perspective.

"We have paid with over 2,200 lives. How many more Malaysians must die before we come to the end of the Covid-19 pandemic?" he said in a separate statement.

The DAP lawmaker urged Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to convene an all-party and all-NGO conference in the fight against Covid-19 to ensure an "all-of-society" approach.

He also backed a new economic stimulus package to help poor and vulnerable groups.

Lim added that this must be coupled with an acceleration of the vaccination rollout and also an effective and efficient find-test-trace-isolate-support regime.

Yesterday, the government announced stricter measure under a revised MCO 3.0 but stopped short of shutting down economic sectors.

The measures mostly involved working from home and shorter business hours. - Mkini