Earlier this week, Health Director General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham revealed that it is unlikely that the current Movement Control Order (MCO) will last more than four weeks.

The Ministry of Health is currently mulling lifting the MCO before the Chinese New Year celebrations, which falls on 12 February.

If you’re wondering what’s the reason behind that, well, lifting the MCO is for the good of the rakyat.

A grim picture

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has revealed that the livelihood of a lot of Malaysians will be affected if the MCO is dragged on longer than necessary.

He told Malay Mail that should another full lockdown is imposed on economic activities like how it was during the first MCO back in March last year, a total of 2.8 million Malaysians may risk losing their jobs.

On top of that, another 2.5 million Malaysians will be facing a loss of income should the MCO be extended.

Based on estimations, Ismail Sabri revealed that the B40 group would be affected the most.

“The B40 group would lose an estimated RM6.45 billion a month, with their average household income of RM2,400,” he was quoted as saying.

The Companies Commission of Malaysia has also revealed that a total of 13,445 companies have shuttered since the first MCO, Ismail Sabri said.

Therefore, he stressed that any decision on the matter must take into account both lives and livelihoods of Malaysians.

On Monday (25 January), Dr Noor Hisham said the government is looking at imposing a Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) once the current MCO ends on 4 February.

The announcement was met with mixed reactions, with many concerned Malaysians questioning if lifting the MCO would be a good move, considering that the number of daily active COVID-19 cases are still breaching the 3,000 mark.

What do you guys think? Is lifting the MCO early a yay or a nay for you?

Continue caring for each other, staying united post COVID-19 – Zahidi