UPDATE: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today announced that the movement control order (MCO) will be extended by another two weeks. This fourth phase of the MCO will be in force up to May 12.
The MCO was first enforced on March 18, two days following the announcement by the Prime Minister in the midst of the one-week school holidays as Covid-19 cases started to spike. It was then extended twice; first to April 14, and then to April 28.
PETALING JAYA: The people must prepare to stay home longer with the prospect of phase four of the movement control order (MCO) looming, as the government prepares standard operating procedures (SOPs) to cater for Ramadan, say government sources.
Although there has yet to be an official announcement, the government’s preparation for a Ramadan under MCO signals the possibility of a phase four.
The MCO, which began on March 18, is now in its third phase which will end on April 28.
As the first three phases were in two-week stages, phase four is likely to be another two weeks.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to give a special Ramadan speech to the nation tonight to address the worries of Muslims fasting during the MCO.
Business sectors are already bracing for an extended MCO and are making arrangements to cushion the impact. Business owners say they intend to continue operating at below 50% of their capacity.
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri said the government was not only looking at allowing students who had been stuck at hostels in higher learning institutions due to the MCO to go back to their hometowns, but it was also discussing the possibility of allowing those who went back to their hometowns during the first few days of the MCO to return to the towns and cities.
“For the early stages, they can apply to the police through the online application Gerak Malaysia, a collaboration between the police and Communications and Multimedia Ministry, from April 25 onwards,” he said.
But he cautioned that the possibility of letting people come back to the cities from their hometowns would only be decided on once the authorities had the complete data.
Religious authorities, under the purview of Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Al-Bakri, are also formulating fatwa (a formal ruling on a point of Islamic law) to ensure that Muslims are not in doubt about fasting during the MCO.
The announcement by Senior Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof yesterday that most applications from construction companies to continue operations during the MCO had been rejected was yet another indication of a potential extension to the MCO.
“The government received 19,000 applications from companies in the construction industry to operate during the MCO. Of these, 1,856 were approved while 7,387 applications were not,” he said.
On a related note, Ismail Sabri said a total of 763 individuals were arrested on Wednesday for violating the MCO, bringing the total number of arrest to 18,498 since the implementation of the order.
