Malaysian business owners on Tuesday pleaded with the government to review coronavirus restrictions which they say is causing massive damage to the economy.
David Gurupatham of Industries Unite, which is made up of 115 trade unions and chambers of commerce representing more than three million businesses, said that it would take years to recover from the economy damage.
“We are beyond saving businesses and it is going to take years to recover as the current policies aren’t working.
“Malaysia’s third pandemic lockdown was imposed in May, with the government last week warning daily case numbers would have to drop below 4,000 before any nationwide easing would be sanctioned, though some regional-level relaxations have been permitted,’’ he said.
On Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported more than 7,600 new cases, the highest in over a month in spite weeks of heavily policed curbs.
Malaysia has been reporting the most cases, measured per capita in South-East Asia.
Gurupatham said the rules only allow essential businesses to operate and with a cap of 60 per cent of staff at work at a time.
He added that the requirements were confusing and queries were being passed between ministries without being answered.
Malaysia’s first lockdown in 2020 saw second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) plunge by about 17 per cent.
The second lockdown in early 2021 proved less damaging, as GDP fell by 0.5 per cent during the first quarter due to overseas demand for goods such as medical gloves, which the country is the world’s biggest supplier of.
The Malaysian Rubber Gloves Manufacturers Association, an industry group, warned over the weekend that restrictions could cause a global shortage of gloves and leave medics unprotected.
(NAN)
