KUCHING: Despite its severe negative effects on the economy, the public are supportive of the government’s move should it decide to extend the current movement control order (MCO).
Many understand that the implementation of the MCO is for the safety of the country.
Despite the slow business he has been experiencing since the MCO, Muhammad Amin, 29, owner of AmsyarCanai at Mom’s Laksa Gita, understands the government’s efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“The MCO should definitely be extended due to the continuous rise in the Covid-19 cases. We must constantly take preventive measures because the virus is invisible.
“Everyone must come together and follow the government’s orders which are for our own safety,” he said.
Amin, however, hoped that the government would continue to help small-time traders like him as well as low-income families.
“At least once every two weeks, the government should give extra food aid to affected households, taking into account the number of people in the houses.
“Sometimes the food aid given by the government may not last until the end of the month, and the assistance might be their only source of food,” he said.
Similarly, Mohd Fitri Kamal agreed that the MCO should continue.
“The extension is necessary because the number of cases continues to rise daily
“If the MCO is not extended, there is no guarantee we will be secure from the virus,” he said.
Fitri, the owner of Double E Apparel Printing, believed that the MCO should be extended but requested that exemptions be made for certain businesses.
He added it was difficult for certain people, particularly those who were not in the essential category, to make a decent living.
“My printing business has been on hold since the adoption of MCO because I cannot get fabrics and printing ink. My suppliers and dealers are not authorised to operate,”
Fitri also suggested that the government reconsider the sectors permitted during the MCO.
“Hardware and stationery stores should be allowed to operate since we require specific items for the continuation of our business,”
“This is also important to the parents because the home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) has begun and many of them do not have access to printing facilities at home,” he explained.
However, if the non-essential businesses are allowed to operate during the MCO, they must strictly adhere to the government’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of the virus.
