By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, June 7: The federal government will implement the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) from June 10 to August 31 as Malaysia continues to ease restrictions implemented under a restricted movement order which has been in place since March 18.
In a televised speech earlier this afternoon, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia is entering the recovery phase, adding that the RMCO is the exit strategy from the Movement Control Order (CMO) and the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) which had been in place since March 18 to curb the spread of Covid-19.
As such, he said CMCO which will end on June 9 is being replaced with the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO).
“During the RMCO period, more easing will be allowed to enable the public to conduct daily activities besides continuing to abide by the standard operating procedure (SOP) outlined.
“During the RMCO period, almost all social, education, religious, business and economic sectors can resume gradually while adhering to the SOP.
“In line with the recovery phase of the country’s economy, there will be no restriction on interstate travel,” Muhyiddin said during a live broadcast carried by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) at Putrajaya today.
He also disclosed that a few activities and sectors which were not allowed to operate during CMCO will be allowed to reopen with adherence to SOP.
For instance, Muhyiddin said, for businesses, business hours can be resumed as normal by following the required SOP but businesses are required to implement social distancing, require wearing of face masks by business owners and customers, as well as provide hand sanitizers.
Muhyiddin said the implementation of the RMCO was based on seven strategies: strengthening of public health, law and enforcement, beefing up border security, opening up all economic sectors, new normal culture, building up community responsibility and protecting high risk groups.
He also emphasised the pivotal roles played by village chiefs, community leaders and non-governmental organisation (NGO) leaders in assisting the federal government to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic within the community.
He extended his appreciation to employers who ensure that their employees abide by the SOP in their workplaces.
Muhyiddin believed the country will enter the normalisation phase after the RMCO phase if the public practises self-discipline to ensure that Covid-19 in Malaysia remains under control.
However, he pointed out that the federal government will not hesitate to implement the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO) if there is a spike in Covid-19 cases detected at certain location or districts.
To recap, the federal government initiated the MCO to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Malaysia from March 18 to 31.
The MCO was extended from April 1 to 14 and thereafter from April 15 to April 28.
After that, the fourth phase of MCO was from April 29 to May 12.
On May 4, the federal government imposed the CMCO which allowed several economic sectors to reopen under strict guidelines.
On May 10, Muhyiddin announced that the CMCO was extended for four weeks from May 13 to June 9. — DayakDaily
