He said this in response to a letter that the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Eurocham) sent to its members stating that the government is mulling a stricter shutdown if the Covid-19 infection rate does not reduce by Feb 4, the scheduled end of MCO 2.0.

Najib said that waiting for MCO 2.0 to end before imposing tougher restrictions would only prolong the hardship felt by businesses.

“If you want to be stricter by banning the factory and construction sectors, go all out now,” he said in a social media post. “Do not wait and force people to suffer for a longer time under MCO 2.0.

“Why propose for it to happen only after MCO 2.0, as 23 days would have been wasted?”

The letter stated that international trade and industry ministry (Miti) secretary-general Lokman Hakim Ali had informed Eurocham that the health ministry believed the manufacturing sector to be the main source of infections.

“Should the infection rate not go down, the Malaysian government will announce a shutdown/strict lockdown immediately after Feb 4,” it read.

The letter further encouraged Eurocham to do what it could to “reduce infections, break the chain and keep the economy open”.

FMT has confirmed the authenticity of the letter.