But MEF president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said there should be no confusion on which economic sectors should be allowed to operate and the number of employees present, hoping Putrajaya had learned its lessons from past movement control orders (MCO).

However, he said the lockdown would be very tough on most employers, especially micro-enterprises that would be facing a drop in revenue.

“Previously, the finance minister warned that as many as 2.8 million people would lose their income and as many as 40% of SMEs would be shuttered for good in the event of a full lockdown.

“With losses expected at about RM2.4 billion per day, similar to that during MCO 1.0, the government must introduce more stimulus packages, including wage subsidies and financial assistance, to businesses and individuals.

“The automatic loan moratorium must also be reintroduced so that such businesses and individuals can survive and be able to continue with their operations,” he said in a statement today.

The National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) called on Putrajaya to expedite spending allocated in the budget for small and medium projects, saying this would support domestic demand.

It said financial institutions must continue offering targeted repayment assistance while one-off grants should be given to micro-businesses and petty traders.

It also mooted handing out daily or weekly cash handouts of up to RM600 to taxi operators, e-hailing drivers and hawkers as well as an extension of the government’s wage subsidy programme.

Both MEF and NCCIM urged that the national Covid-19 immunisation programme be expedited, saying it is the key to achieving herd immunity and ensuring the country can return to some form of normalcy.