Malaysian economy operating at 45 per cent capacity during MCO phase 1 and 2 - Azmin

The Malaysian economy is estimated to operate at 45 per cent of its operating capacity due to the closure of non-essential services for four weeks during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) until April 14, 2020, said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).

Its Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) projected the country's economy to grow at between -2.0 per cent and 0.5 per cent in 2020, and the projection took into account the four-week MCO implementation until April 14, 2020.

"(Hence), the decision to allow more businesses to gradually resume their operations during MCO Phase 3 (MCO3) would increase the operating capacity of the economy," he said at a press conference here, today.

According to him, MITI had received 18,650 applications to operate from additional economic sectors for MCO3 on the first day that the ministry's application system started operations on April 13, 2020.

"This is a huge number if we compare with the applications we received for Phase 1 and 2, whereby we processed 12,360 applications within six days," he said.

Mohamed Azmin also said that the industries and companies that were given approvals during MCO Phase 1 and 2 did not need to get approvals to operate during MCO3.

-- BERNAMA