“If we wait until October to open all sectors, we might as well say goodbye to our economy,” said Ahamed Kameel Mydin Meera, an adjunct professor with International Islamic University Malaysia.
Speaking to FMT, he said there would be an increase in the number of businesses going bust and the economy would “be wrecked” and lives ruined. “I think political chaos might ensue,” he said.
According to the plan Muhyiddin announced, there are four phases of recovery, the first being the current lockdown, which is set to last until June 28.
The second phase will start as soon as Covid-19 cases dip below 4,000 cases with 10% of the population vaccinated. Several businesses, including retail of electronics and computers, will be allowed.
The third phase, beginning at the end of August, will see more economic sectors allowed. The fourth phase, targeted from October onwards, will see all other sectors opened. By this time, border crossings and domestic tourism will be allowed.
Muhyiddin also said Malaysia was likely to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year.
Kameel and another economist, Center for Market Education CEO Carmelo Ferlito, complained of a lack of details in the recovery plan, not only with regard to improving the economy, but also to efforts to reduce Covid infections.
Kameel noted that the economic strategy did not include an automatic loan moratorium.
“The government needs to do more to bring the economy and our lives to normalcy,” he said.
Ferlito said an exit strategy and a sound plan for economic recovery were missing.
“Where is the strategy? We have not seen a strategy or a plan. We’ve seen only a list of dates and phases which are linked to the decrease in the number of daily cases,” he said.
He said Muhyiddin did not announce measures to be taken to reduce daily Covid-19 cases. “More or less, the strategy is to go on with the lockdown and wait for a miracle.”
Without a comprehensive strategy, Ferlito said, the number of cases would surge again and at a faster rate as people suffer from SOP fatigue.
“We need to detect more cases through mass testing and develop targeted immunity,” he said.
Another economist, Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, said he believed the duration of the four phases would depend on the success in curbing Covid-19 cases.
“The target is realistic, but this is just to essentially manage the pandemic,” he said. “People may want to know more about (the) efforts to turn around the economy.”
He spoke of the need for Putrajaya to take measures to help businesses and to create jobs, and said one key measure would be to train workers to improve their skills and to gain new skills in preparation for the reopening of all sectors.
“The government needs to start announcing plans now,” he added.
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