PM's message clears confusion, MCO 3.0 is realistic judgement - Analyst

Crisis management analyst Pete Nicoll said this would hopefully eliminate the confusion faced by the people, while delivering a strong central message not to violate standard operating procedures (SOPs) and help the situation by doing self-lockdown.

"We received messages of clarity, simple explanations of who, why, what and how in the management of the crisis.

"He (PM) also noted a positive statement of the economic recovery and ending it with humility... apologising for any previous confusion," he told Bernama TV on Mid-Day Update today.

Nicoll was commenting on the prime minister's interview on Sunday following the revised Movement Control Order 3.0.

He further said that there is a need to understand the fine line and the fragility between economic crisis measures and public health measures, as no government in the world could foresee the length of this event (COVID-19), and have significant or negative impact on the national and global economies.

"To keep as much of the economy open, funded and functioning is a realistic judgement when combined with other restrictive measures implemented to address the public health crisis.

"It is also credible to suggest that a full lockdown again would severely impact the economy and social structure of Malaysia for a significant period of time," Nicoll said, adding that mental health issue is also another matter that needs to be taken seriously in fighting the pandemic that is causing fatigue.

On a similar note, International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) Research Management Center director Associate Professor Baharom Abdul Hamid hoped that financial aid provided by the government would be channelled appropriately to the targeted groups to avoid mismatch in the assistance given.

"Right now what is top of their (people's) mind is survival -- physical and mental health. I hope by speeding up vaccination, we can achieve the herd immunity soonest possible to reduce the fear and release the fatigue on the people and government," he said.

In terms of the economic sector, Baharom said that despite concern on survival, it is positive to also note that industries and companies are taking steps to develop better infrastructure through adopting the latest technology and digitalisation.

He also hoped that the government would continue to support those severely impacted, like the tourism sector, so that when the situation improves, the people in the industries could make an optimised comeback.