While acknowledging that these restrictions have affected the people, he said the government had to take the drastic measures of shutting down economic sectors and forcing people to stay at home since March last year.

He also said that, at the time, there were no guidelines to control the pandemic since other countries had not resorted to such measures yet.

“The government was forced to announce the movement control order (MCO) from March 18 because the people’s lives are more important than anything. Thank God, we see that we were successful.

“It’s true that I’m the ‘bad boy’ because I closed (the borders). I had to introduce strict SOPs and all that, but it was between lives and livelihoods. For us, the people’s lives are very important and must be protected,” he told a press conference today.

Although the MCO has been lifted in certain states, he maintained that the government would still ensure that SOPs are adhered to and that the country’s borders continue to be protected from undocumented migrants.

Meanwhile, he said the decision to extend or end the MCO or conditional MCO across the country will be announced after the national security council is briefed by the health ministry on its risk evaluation.