Malaysia relaxes partial lockdown Monday, urges citizens to follow Taiwan's example

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/04
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Malaysia prepared to partially ease strict movement controls and allow most of its economic sectors to reopen Monday (May 4), the country's defense minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Sunday (May 3) urged all Malaysians to use the Taiwanese as role models in self-discipline.

Following Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's announcement Friday (May 1) that the Southeast Asian nation would go into conditional movement control order (CMCO) starting Monday, concerns have been raised about the possibility of a new wave of coronavirus infections. However, Muhyiddin stressed that the move was necessary, as he pointed out that the nation could no longer carry on with the extended movement control order (MCO), which has dealt a significant blow to its economy.

According to Reuters, most businesses will be allowed to resume operations under the CMCO, while large religious gatherings, cinemas, night clubs, schools, and universities will remain closed. The government has also advised all employers to implement flexible hours for their workers as well as encourage them to do their jobs from home.

At a daily media briefing on Sunday, Ismail Sabri noted that Taiwan has not introduced any nationwide or local lockdowns, yet it still has one of the lowest number of COVID-19 cases in the world. He said he believed the key to Taiwan's successful pandemic response was self-discipline on the part of the population, and he hoped the Malaysian public would follow suit.    [FULL  STORY]