KUCHING: Sarawak should emulate the federal government’s decision to open up the economy, Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCGCCI) secretary-general Jonathan Chai Voon Tok said today.
He said that such an initiative would help expedite the recovery progress of the state’s economy and avoid mass unemployment, which would eventually bring about unwanted social issues.
“Looking at the density of the population in Sarawak compared to our counterparts in Malaya, especially in Klang Valley, the risk of infection through body contact would be considerably lesser and more manageable here if the social distancing measure is strictly observed,” he said.
He said the movement control order (MCO) should not be extended indefinitely.
While commending the state government’s proactive measures such as conducting the active case detection programme in two residential estates in Kota Samarahan, Chia said it was also high time for the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) to come up with an exit strategy in possibly the final phase of the MCO.
“Gradually opening up businesses will be the key agenda of that exit strategy,” he said.
Chai said the business community welcomed the CMCO announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin earlier today, which would allow almost all economic sectors and certain social activities to resume on May 4, subject to conditions and excluding those that involved gatherings.
“I believe the government has weighed the balance between the importance of public health and the necessity of reviving our sluggish economy,” he said.
“This is not an unfettered relaxation of doing business in these extraordinary circumstances.”
He hoped businesses would treasure this relaxation of restrictions, adding that employees and business owners would need to adapt to the new normal by adhering to social distancing in the workplace, taking care of personal hygiene, and implementing health control guidelines.
“The hope of fully opening up or allowing our lives to go back to normal depends very much on the results of this gradual and progressive resumption of business operations.
“We really cannot afford to see any major blunders or mishaps in the process as it would shatter our hope of lifting the MCO imminently,” said Chai.
