Implementing CMCO a difficult decision - Saifuddin

He said, the government in using its wisdom, has to make a balanced decision taking into consideration the economic interest and at the same time look at the current COVID-19 pandemic development in the country.

“Like the proverb “between a rock and a hard place’, if we do not proceed (with economic activities), the economy would be impeded, Bank Negara Malaysia said we would suffer losses or the Finance Minister said we are losing RM2.4 billion a day but if we allow the economic sector to move, we have the problem of COVID-19 which is not over.

“The government plays the role of giving space (to the economic sector) as we have no choice. If we continue prohibiting economic activities, we will experience an economic crisis worse than in 1997. We would be losing 1.8 million jobs,” he said when appearing as a guest in Radio Television Malaysia (RTM)’s Selamat Pagi Malaysia today.

Saifuddin said, the government had taken a cautious measure and only made the decision after obtaining the advice of the Health Ministry in accordance with the resolutions of the World Health Organisation.

"We did not make the decision arbitrarily by ourselves, it was based on facts and some inevitable situations,” he said.

Saifuddin said, the government also took into consideration all aspects before coming to the decision including looking at the measures taken by several countries in implementing the relaxation of movements.

“We are also learning from the experience of other countries. We looked at their mistakes and avoid making the same errors...some countries allowed festivals or celebrations with large gatherings. We also have festivals such as Aidilfitri but we decided that there should not be big gatherings and did not allow “balik kampung” movement,” he said.

On CMCO which is starting tomorrow, Saifuddin said, each individual should be responsible for ensuring discipline at all time to break the COVID-19 infection chain.

“What is important is our discipline. Just go straight to work and back, do not idle. Look after your health, wash your hands frequently and practise social distancing because in the end whether it is over economic, social, political or whatever reasons, it is up to our discipline and cooperation to combat COVID-19,” he said.

Last Friday, Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the government would be implementing CMCO to enable certain economic and social sectors to reopen tomorrow (May 4).