Rightways: movement control order (MCO)

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Tuesday, May 11, 2021

MCO for whole of Malaysia will begin 12until June 7, 2021

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PETALING JAYA: All of Malaysia will come under the movement control order from tomorrow until June 7 in view of a “more critical and vicious third wave” of Covid-19 infections.

“With daily cases exceeding 4,000 cases, and with 37,396 active cases and 1,700 deaths as at May 10, Malaysia is facing a third wave that could break into a national crisis, ” said Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic).

“Data and science show gatherings make social distancing difficult and that the presence of large groups in closed spaces is the main cause of Covid-19 spreading.

“The chain of infection can only be broken with the public staying home by enforcing stricter movement control, ” he said in a statement yesterday.

The rules and restrictions include:

> No mass gatherings such as weddings, dinners and tahlil, nor government and private events;

> No face-to-face seminars or meetings;

> No inter-district and interstate travel except for work and economic purposes, health matters, emergencies, vaccination appointments and long-distance couples;

> All educational institutions to be closed with exceptions for students sitting for international examinations;

> Childcare centres, nurseries and kindergartens allowed to operate;

> A three-person limit, including the driver, in personal vehicles, taxis and e-hailing rides;

> Employers to enforce a work-from-home order with no more than 30% of its management in office at any one time; and

> Akad nikah allowed based on the standard operating procedure (SOP) by the state Islamic agencies for Muslims, and by the National Registration Department for non-Muslims.

Muhyiddin said the restriction on inter-district and interstate travel, as well as social, sports and education activities, started yesterday and would go on until June 6 as previously announced.

“The start for the rest of the instructions will begin May 12 and be in effect until June 7, ” he added.

Throughout this period, all economic sectors would remain operational, he said.

“The government will continue using the HIDE (Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement) system to monitor premises and hotspots, as well as take follow-up actions.

“I hope the public will remain disciplined and continue to abide by the SOP to break the chain of infections, ” he said.

Muhyiddin reminded all Malaysians that the best course of action was to stay at home.

“We flattened the curve during the first and second wave. I wish to remind all that the third wave we are currently facing is more fierce and critical.

“We have not won. God willing, we will beat this virus, ” he added.

Prior to yesterday’s announcement, which underscored the growing severity of the situation, the MCO had been enforced in certain “red” districts.

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Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Malaysia's all states except Sarawak go back into partial lockdown (MCO 2.0), state of emergency declared by the King

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COVID-19 | Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today unveiled tougher measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

This includes the implementation of full movement control order (MCO) on eight states and territories.

They are Penang, Selangor, Malacca, Johor, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

Another six states will be under the ongoing conditional MCO but with stricter rules than the existing ones.

Perlis and Sarawak are the only two states that will see the most relaxed rules as they will be put under the recovery MCO.

However, the Sarawak government today moved to place Kuching, Sibu and Miri under a conditional MCO.

Muhyiddin, in a live address on national TV, said the MCO will take effect at midnight of Jan 13 until Jan 26.

Interstate travel ban

For states under MCO and conditional MCO, the prime minister said social activities involving gatherings will be banned, similar to measures during the MCO in March last year.

“To reduce the risk of infection and to break the Covid-19 chain, social activities involving large gatherings such as wedding reception, conference, religious parades including Thaipusam, meetings, seminars, courses and group sports will not be allowed in any way,” he said.

However, he said states under the recovery MCO can still carry out social activities, but subject to strict standard operating procedures (SOP).

Furthermore, Muhyiddin said an interstate travel ban will be imposed nationwide.

As for states under the full MCO, they will see stricter rules as interdistrict travel is also not allowed.

"With the interstate and interdistrict travel ban, roadblocks will be enforced from midnight of Jan 13.

"For states under MCO, the movement will only be limited to within a 10km radius," he said.

Muhyiddin added that only two persons per household are allowed to leave the house to purchase necessities from supermarkets and grocery stores.

He said the two persons per vehicle rule also applies.

Essential services

Similar to the MCO in March last year, Muhyiddin said only businesses on the essential economic sector list will be allowed to operate.

“The government has identified five sectors that will be allowed to operate and are categorised as essential economic sectors.

“They are manufacturing, production, construction, services, trade and distribution as well as plantations and commodity,” he added.

Muhyiddin said these sectors are allowed to operate as they are needed to ensure the supply chain of essential goods.

However, he said only 30 percent of their administrative staff will be allowed to operate from the office.

The prime minister also urged those who are allowed to continue working to abide by the SOPs.

He added that the International Trade and Industry Ministry will provide further details on the types of services that are considered essential economic sector.

Muhyiddin said restaurants in states under full MCO are not allowed to provide dine-in services.

They will only be allowed to provide takeaway services.

However, he said restaurants in states under the conditional MCO and recovery MCO may continue to operate as per normal, subject to the Health Ministry’s SOP.

Elaborating on the full MCO states, Muhyiddin said supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and banks will continue to operate but with precautions.

He added that students who will be sitting for their 2020 and 2021 SPM papers will still be allowed to attend school.

As for religious activities, he said only a maximum of five people in places of worship is allowed.

However, religious activities in places of worship located in states under the conditional and recovery MCO can still proceed, in accordance with the SOP.

One distinction from the MCO in March last year is that outdoor exercising is allowed.

However, Muhyiddin said they may only do so with members of the same household.

He added that those going out for jogging or cycling should only do so with one other person at most.

Group exercise is not allowed.

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Sunday, January 3, 2021

Malaysians staying home less despite third wave; Beating Covid-19 in 2021 required managing time, risk and ambition

Report shows more people going out again after Dec 7

Since the start of the conditional movement control order in May, the amount of time Malaysians spent at home has mostly been on a downward trend even as Covid-19 cases soared in the past few months.

This is one of the insights from Oxford University’s Our World in Data portal (ourworldindata.org), which analysed a report from Google that tracks the movement of people in more than 130 countries since the pandemic began.

Google’s Covid- 19 Community Mobility Report records changes in the number of visitors each day to various types of locations such as workplaces, and retail and recreational areas.

The report, based on data Google collects from users who have their location history setting turned on, also measures the change in the amount of time people spend at home each day.

The daily changes are compared with a baseline figure taken from before the pandemic, which is the median value over the five-week period from Jan 3 to Feb 6, 2020.

Charts created by Our World in Data based on the Google report shows how the movement of people, including in Malaysia, changed throughout the pandemic.

When Covid-19 first emerged, many Malaysians were still spending their days mostly at their workplaces or other locations instead of being at home.

That changed after the MCO was introduced on March 18.

On March 27, time spent at home shot up with a 36.14% increase compared with the baseline period while the number of visitors to workplaces fell to negative 63.71% due to MCO restrictions.

Malaysians, however, started venturing out of their homes more following the introduction of the conditional MCO on May 4.

The conditional MCO relaxed some of the earlier restrictions, with most economic sectors and activities allowed to operate with physical distancing.

As a result, time spent at home started falling and on Aug 30 hit a low of just 4.57% more than the baseline.

The start of a third wave of Covid19 cases since Sept 20 saw a relatively brief increase in time spent at home.

However, the figure fell again especially after Dec 7 when restrictions on inter-district and interstate travel were lifted, with the exception of areas under the enhanced MCO

Beating Covid-19 in 2021: Managing time, risk and ambition

Think bigger: We must reimagine a a new social contract for health, one that protects citizens and non-citizens in fair, sustainable and politically acceptable ways.

VERY often in the pandemic of 2020, we found ourselves in situations with no good choices. That's normal. This is a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic with no useful policy textbooks or manuals. Public health experts and scientists raced to understand Covid-19, and we continue to learn more. Political leaders and policymakers struggled to deploy old solutions for a vast new problem.

It's now 11 months since Malaysia's first Covid-19 case. As we forge ahead into 2021, I humbly offer three strategies for Malaysia's national health: to use time wisely; to stabilise our tolerance levels of risk; and to match our solutions to the size of the problem. This will help us in our second year with Covid-19.

Firstly, Malaysia must use time wisely. In other words, we must prepare for future problems today, instead of waiting for the problems to arrive. For example, we had four months between June-Sept 2020 when we had very few cases. That quiet period came after a national MCO sacrifice of two months. We may not have utilised that four quiet months effectively.

Some of the problems in the third wave are similar to the problems in the first two waves. Examples include the living conditions of foreign workers, the speed and scale of testing and isolating, effective contact tracing using apps, data sharing from the Health Ministry, and coordination between federal-state responses.

This is why Malaysia must use time wisely in 2021. Quiet periods or not, the government must use time to rebuild, strengthen infrastructure and implement long-term durable solutions. Two specific examples include building the vaccine infrastructure before the first stocks arrive in Feb 2021, and to deliver a clear management plan when we find positive Covid-19 cases during the mass testing of foreign workers starting in Jan 2021.

In the second year of the pandemic, we cannot fight the same problems as in the first year. We must get these old problems under control, and then solve new ones. That means we must use our time wisely, and not waste it.

The second strategy for national health in 2021 is to stabilise our tolerance levels for risk. After one year, it seems like we are willing to tolerate much higher levels of risk, compared to the early stages of the pandemic. This can be dangerous. We must have a stable tolerance level of risk, not increasingly tolerate more and more risk.

Here's an example. In March, we had approximately 100-300 daily new cases. In December, we had approximately 850-2300 daily new cases. Despite this dramatic increase, everyone has started taking Covid-19 lightly. Government entities are no longer marching to the same disciplined tune as in the beginning of the pandemic and appear to be more relaxed. Citizens are no longer consistently wearing masks or physically distancing.

There may be reasons why we take it lightly. We all have pandemic fatigue and want our old lives back. Malaysia may have 2000 daily cases in December, but we feel better when comparing it to Indonesia's 5000-8000 cases or the United Kingdom's 13,000-53,000 cases in the same month. These are understandable, but dangerous.

We cannot take Covid-19 lightly. We cannot endlessly tolerate increasing amounts of pandemic risk. I do not think a second full lockdown will work to help avoid it. But I do not believe that we can endlessly tolerate more risk and assume that we will never need it.

What I do support is a stable level of risk tolerance. In other words, take Covid-19 consistently seriously until we are all safe. A pandemic continues to rage around us. To government agencies, take things seriously, communicate better, use time wisely and prepare for future problems. To citizens, wear your masks and stay home where possible. Don't let the increasing numbers numb us into thinking that we can endlessly tolerate more risk.

The third and final strategy for national health in 2021 is to match our solutions to the size of the pandemic. In other words, we need solutions that are proportional to the size of the problem. After one year of fighting Covid-19, we know that our pre-2020 solutions, tools and policies are inadequate. Covid-19 is simply too big for any old solutions.

In the early stages, all governments are forgiven if they don't know what to do. After one year of Covid-19, all governments lose that excuse. Given the scale of Covid-19, we need ambitious, imaginative and Very Big solutions to a Very Big problem. In other words, unprecedented problems need unprecedented solutions, not old, timid and ineffective solutions.

This means that our government must aim much higher in 2021. We need new ways to deliver history's most important vaccination program, as safely, effectively and quickly as possible. We must reimagine a new social contract for health, that protects citizens and non-citizens in fair, sustainable and politically acceptable ways. We can integrate our non-health and health infrastructure to enable better contact tracing, such as South Korea's use of credit card transactions and China's use of QR codes. We need a true whole-of-society response.

In the first year, governments can be forgiven for relying on what they are familiar with. In the second year, governments must respond to Covid-19 in much bigger ways. This once-in-a-lifetime problem requires once-in-a-lifetime solutions. Only then can we beat this pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic will define not just 2020, but the 2020s. The strategic choices we make in 2021 will define how effectively Malaysia manages Covid-19 and recovers from it. This new year let us make three resolutions as a country: to use our time wisely, to stabilise our tolerance of risk, and to bring ambitious giant solutions to a giant problem. — Sin Chew Daily/Asia News Network

Dr Khor Swee Kheng is an independent consultant for the World Health Organisation. The views expressed here are solely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Star.

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Happy New Year 2021: Stay Home to stay Safe

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Health experts say the current Covid-19 situation in the country is not favourable for social gatherings even for welcoming the New Year.

“Current active cases have exceeded 21,000 and daily numbers are close to 2,000. We should not expose ourselves to any risk of infection,” said Universiti Putra Malaysia medical epidemiologist Assoc Prof Dr Malina Osman.

“We should also not strain our healthcare system further.”

The conditional movement control order (MCO) was eased for the sake of the country’s economy, and not for engaging in big social crowds or family gatherings, said Dr Malina.

She advised the public to continue to comply with SOP, as the vaccine was yet to be made available locally.

“Hopefully the vaccine will reach our country soon. Singapore has started the vaccination for their frontliners today (yesterday) and their cases are much lower compared to us, we have to be more consistent and vigilant against Covid-19.

“Or we can expect early next year to be markedly different from our neighbouring country,” she said.

Universiti Malaya professor of epidemiology and public health Prof Dr Sanjay Rampal said for the next few weeks, it was important to do two things.

“First, avoid being in congested and confined areas for prolonged durations. It may be hard at times to maintain the minimum 1m physical distancing but we have to.

“Second, there may be a need to maintain a social circle for longterm emotional and psychosocial support, but avoid a large bubble, and restrict mixing across networks,” he said.

For New Year celebrations, Dr Sanjay suggested that the public usher in the New Year by staying at home.

Large gatherings, if any, should be held in big, open spaces while practising physical distancing, he said, adding that the location should have sufficient amenities to promote good sanitation and hygiene.

Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah concurred that celebrations should be held in open areas with good ventilation to reduce the probability of getting infected.

Dr Raj said air conditioned and closed spaces without good ventilation posed a risk to people.

“Malaysians can celebrate in open areas by observing the SOP laid out by the Health Ministry. Use your face mask, observe social distancing, and wash and sanitise your hands regularly,” he said.

Going into the new year, Dr Raj believed there would not be “total freedom”.

“There will still be restrictions for the whole of next year. Hopefully, the vaccine can ease that for us. However, let’s remain positive and hope for the best,” he said.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2020

All steady on the home front in Penang residential properties

Sales done: According to Knight Frank Malaysia, there are pockets of success by some developers reporting bookings and sales for their affordable homes during the movement control order period despite the fact that physical viewings were disallowed.

DEMAND for residential properties in Penang is expected to remain steady during the second half of 2020, especially if the homes are from renowned developers with good quality products.

Knight Frank Malaysia executive director Mark Saw says there are pockets of success by some developers reporting bookings and sales for their affordable homes during the movement control order (MCO) period (from March 18 to May 3), despite the fact that physical viewings were disallowed.

“In this challenging environment, developers with a strong brand name and good delivery of quality products should still achieve decent returns and the gap between higher and lower quality properties will become more evident with better sales for those able to deliver.

“These factors will play a critical role in determining the success of developments. It has become a buyer’s market and many deals are being offered by developers to attract first-time buyers as opposed to investors who have been temporarily sidelined, ” he tells StarBizWeek.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Saw says buyers’ preferences and timings may change, with decisions being put on hold due to job security, ample choices and rentals being more competitive.

CBRE|WTW director Peh Seng Yee says the pandemic’s impact has been softened in the second half of the year with the recovery MCO (which was implemented from June 10).

CBRE|WTW director Peh Seng Yee says the pandemic’s impact has been softened in the second half of the year with the recovery MCO (which was implemented from June 10).

“As housing is a necessity and with the bank loan moratorium, the residential property sector has been cushioned from the worst impact.

“Hence, the residential market is expected to remain resilient for the second half of 2020. Significant growth is not expected yet as the issue of property overhang, lack of spending confidence by consumers and stringent lending policies by banks are expected to still linger for the remainder of the year.”

Additionally, both Saw and Peh agree that the reintroduction of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) was a much-needed boost to the local property market. The government reintroduced the HOC in June under the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana).

Mark Saw: In this challenging environment, developers with a strong brand name and good delivery of quality products should still achieve decent returns and the gap between higher and lower quality properties will become more evident with better sales for those able to deliver.

Peh says the HOC is expected to continue to spur the buying momentum for residential properties in Penang over the short term.

“Developers are experiencing a pick-up in bookings by buyers compared with the first half of 2020, which was mainly affected by the MCO.

“However, the encouraging bookings have yet to be fully translated into good actual sales, due largely to stringent lending policies by the bank and the challenges and uncertainty in the economy and job market.”

Saw also believes the HOC will be a short-term reprieve for the local property market.

“The HOC initiatives will only be a temporary measure. For the long term, developers should carry out proper feasibility studies to determine the marketability of their products before commencing developments and ending up with unsold units.”

According to Saw, the volume of residential transactions in Penang decreased 19.7% to 2,748 units in the first quarter of 2020 compared with 3,422 units in the fourth quarter of 2019.

“The value of transactions in the residential sub-sector during the first quarter (RM1.06bil) indicated a drop of 17.2% compared with RM1.28bil in the fourth quarter of last year, ” he says.

Under the HOC, stamp duty exemption will be provided on the transfer of property and loan agreement for the purchase of houses priced between RM300,000 and RM2.5mil.

Meanwhile, the exemption on the instrument of transfer under the HOC is limited to the first RM1mil of the home price, while full stamp-duty exemption is given on loan agreement effective for sales and purchase agreements signed between June 1 and May 31,2021.

The government has also announced real property gains tax (RGPT) exemption for Malaysians for the disposal of up to three properties between June 1,2020 and Dec 31,2021.

The HOC was kicked off in last January to address the overhang problem in the country. The campaign, which was initially intended for six months, was extended for a year.

It proved successful, generating total sales of RM23.2bil in 2019, surpassing the government’s initial target of RM17bil.

Meanwhile, Knight Frank in its Real Estate Highlights Research for the first half of 2020 says that amid the current global recession, Invest Penang has revised downwards its foreign direct investment (FDI) target for 2020 to RM5mil.

“This will be supported by the shift towards Industry 4.0 and the various tax incentives and reinvestment allowances as announced under Penjana that seeks to promote Malaysia as a choice destination for FDIs.”

To clear RM2.6bil worth of 3,043 overhang units in the state, Knight Frank says the Penang local government, housing, town and country planning committee has announced that the state will reduce the minimum price threshold for foreign property ownership by up to 40% starting from June 11,2020.

“Ceiling prices for stratified properties on the island will be reduced by up to 20% from RM1mil to RM800,000 and on the mainland, from RM500,000 to RM400,000.”

In the high-end condominium segment, Knight Frank says IJM Perennial has put on hold the development of The Light City.

“Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the group had indicated that it would resume development in August 2020. To be developed over a period of more than four years, Phase 1 will feature a mall with 680,000 sq ft net lettable area, the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre, a four-star hotel with 500 rooms, offices and the ‘Mezzo’ residential condominiums.

“Meanwhile, for Phase 2, there are plans for a 300,000-sq-ft mall, a five-star hotel with 250 rooms, offices, the ‘Essence’ residential condominiums and possibly an experiential theme park. It is worth noting that the commencement of Phase 2 will be determined by the sales of the Mezzo condominiums and the occupancy of the mall.”

As for the office sub-sector in Penang, Knight Frank says the average occupancy rate for four prime buildings monitored in George Town remained stable at 89%.

“According to the latest National Property Information Centre report, the average occupancy rate in the state continued to hold steady at 81.4% in the first quarter of 2020 (compared with 81.3% in the fourth quarter of 2019).”

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