KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — Prolonged closure of social and economic activities would have an adverse impact on the Malaysian economy, the Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) said.
The imposition of a full-scale movement control order (MCO) can lead to business closures and the retrenchment of workers, it said.
As such, the association is urging the authorities to consider a more stringent Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) implemented to curb the spread of the Covid-19 infections instead of a complete lockdown.
"A tighter SOP and stricter health guidelines which require both the general public and the employers and employees of a workplace to follow accordingly have been proven to be an effective tool to curb the spread of Covid-19.
"A good example is the stringent SOPs implemented by the manufacturing sector," MPMA president Datuk Lim Kok Boon said in a statement yesterday.
The association said this in response to the various discussions regarding the imposition of a full-scale MCO in Selangor if the Covid-19 cases in the state continued to rise.
Moreover, MPMA also urged the government to expedite the vaccination programme by allowing the private sector to participate in the purchase and administration of the vaccines to achieve herd immunity as soon as possible.
It would be a more effective method to curb the Covid-19 infection in the long term, it added.
Based on the statistics published by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) for the nearly two-month period beginning January 13 to March 4, 2021, there was a total of 226 clusters in the manufacturing sector with 28,524 cases.
When the manufacturing sector began to adopt a more stringent SOP beginning March 2021, the clusters were reduced to 113 with 9,271 cases for the two months from March 5 to May 5, 2021.
The clusters were then significantly reduced to 31 with 1,598 cases from May 6 to 16, 2021.
"A full lockdown would have a detrimental impact on businesses and the recovering economy. This will lead to job losses and the attendant social problems that would adversely affect families," Lim added.
Malaysia yesterday recorded its highest ever number of daily Covid-19 cases at 6,075.
— Bernama
