Covid-19: PM issues stern reminder against complacency

CORONAVIRUS | Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today issued a stern reminder for Malaysians to comply with government guidelines to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

In a televised address today, Muhyiddin warned that if Covid-19 infections were to increase again, then the government would be forced to impose another lockdown and the economy would suffer.

He also warned that those who breach the rules will face fines and stiffer penalties are being considered.

Muhyiddin's warning comes as new Covid-19 clusters begin to emerge in recent days.

"What worries me is that the number of (new) Covid-19 cases are in the double digits again. This is a situation we cannot take lightly.

"I'm sure, brothers and sisters, you do not want the government to impose the lockdown (again) if there is a spike in new cases.

"I pray and hope that we will not reach that stage," he said.

Muhyiddin warned that another uncontrolled outbreak caused by public complacency would mean all the efforts by frontliners and the money poured in to revive the economy would have been gone to waste.

"If the movement control order (MCO) was imposed again, we may not reach our 2021 growth targets.

"(More) businesses will close and the unemployment rate, which was 5.3 percent in May, will increase exponentially. We must avoid this situation," he said.

'We are all frontliners'

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said that during the recovery phase of the MCO, every individual was now a "frontliner" and their role is to ensure people comply with guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

He urged parents to remind their children to wear masks, maintain social distancing, wash their hands, refrain from handshakes and avoid crowded places, among others.

"It doesn't matter if you seem to be nagging because it is important and we all love our families," he said.

The prime minister also urged employers, teachers and community leaders to play a similar role.

"The village leader should visit places popular among the locals... (to) advise people to wear face masks and maintain social distancing," he said.

On a closing note, he urged Malaysians to accept that the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic has yet to end and success depended on public cooperation.