PETALING JAYA: Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has proposed for the government to establish a tiered alert system to signify the different stages of emergency in the Covid-19 crisis, for better clarity on restrictions and protocols.
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The former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar, popularly known as Tok Mat, said this should replace the last minute announcements regarding changes in SOPs.
“Business confidence and the appeal of Malaysia as a destination for investments heavily depend on the consistency and clarity of existing policies.
“Each government policy to battle this pandemic should be reasonable, based on scientific evidence, take the public’s interest into account and must not be confusing,” he said in a Facebook post.
Mohamad’s comments come after the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) had revised its real gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for 2020 to -0.5%, following the rise in Covid-19 cases and the implementation of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) in several states.
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He suggested for the tiered alert system to mirror those of other countries, which define different levels of emergency based on the virus’ production number, R0 (pronounced R-naught), and the number of confirmed cases at one time.
He said this system should come with set protocols at different levels, especially in terms of SOPs for the workplace, adding that it must go through a negotiation process with relevant agencies to consider the well-being of workers.
Mohamad also called for the government to extend its stimulus packages and increase welfare aid for those in the B40 and M40 group who have been heavily affected by lockdown restrictions.
“The national economic stimulus package (Prihatin) has shown it was successful in easing the public’s burden and guaranteeing their business cash flow, but it has now ended at a critical time.
“The National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) must also be extended especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to retain employees and avoid increasing unemployment rates,” he said.