KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) has been extended until June 9, which means interstate travel for Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration is not allowed, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.
The prime minister said the four-week extension was made on the advice of the Health Ministry (MOH) and the National Security Council (NSC) to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“Our efforts (in fighting COVID-19) have yet to achieve full success. Measures are still needed to fight this pandemic. I also find that the public generally wants the government to continue taking the appropriate measures to fight this pandemic,” he said in a special address aired over national television.
The government had earlier implemented the CMCO from May 4 to 12 to allow almost all economic and social sectors to reopen in a controlled and orderly manner.
Muhyiddin said the extension means that all regulations and standard operating procedures (SOPs) implemented under the current CMCO will remain in force until June 9.
He said any changes to the regulations, SOPs or list of sectors allowed to operate would be announced from time to time.
Muhyiddin pointed out that the CMCO period coincided with several major festivals like Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Pesta Kaamatan and Hari Gawai which usually involved mass movements of people.
Conveying his apologies to the people, Muhyiddin said that in the interest of the safety and health of the population, interstate travel to return to hometowns and villages for Aidilfitri is not allowed.
However, Aidilfitri, Pesta Kaamatan or Hari Gawai can still be celebrated by making visits to close neighbours and family members staying in the same state subject to a maximum of 20 people at one time although big feasts or Open House cannot be held, he added.
The prime minister advised every family to observe health SOP like social distancing, wearing face masks and using hand sanitisers when celebrating the festivals.
Muhyiddin also said studies done by a Singapore-based research agency had ranked Malaysia fourth out of 105 countries in terms of the people’s satisfaction with efforts taken by the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this connection, he thanked the frontliners for sacrificing a lot to keep Malaysians safe from the coronavirus, which has infected more than four million people worldwide and caused 278,631 deaths as of 3 pm today.
He said as a result of their tireless efforts and the discipline shown by Malaysians during the Movement Control Order (MCO) and CMCO, almost all mukim or zones in the country have achieved green status.
Although the country had achieved many positive developments in the fight against the pandemic, Muhyiddin reminded the people of the need to continue taking action to break the chain of infection.
According to medical experts, the process of producing a vaccine might take sometime, between 12 and 18 months, he said.
“I have contacted several foreign leaders and was told that clinical tests were being actively conducted to develop a vaccine for this virus. I hope the vaccine can be produced as quickly as possible so that we can be free from this COVID-19 threat as soon as possible,” he added.
The government implemented the MCO on March 18 for a two-week period and since then there have been three two-week extensions, with the phase four MCO scheduled to end on May 12.
However, on May 4 it enforced the CMCO that was to have ended on May 12, but has now extended it to June 9.
— BERNAMA