Malaysia in Lockdown as Cases Jump to Most in Southeast Asia
Malaysia to Drop ‘Big News’ on Coronavirus Measures Monday Night
(Bloomberg) --
Malaysia is restricting people’s movement nationwide to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
The country is banning all visitors, and residents are barred from traveling overseas while places of worship, schools and business premises will be shut except for markets that supply daily needs, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address late Monday. The measures are effective March 18 to 31, he said.
Malaysians returning from overseas must undergo a 14-day self-quarantine, while government and private-sector operations will be shut except for those providing essential services such as utilities, health, banking and food supply.
“The government’s priority now is to prevent a new spread of this outbreak, which is feared will infect more people,” Muhyiddin said. “The current situation of this outbreak requires drastic measures to restore the situation as soon as possible.”
“We cannot wait any longer until the situation becomes more acute,” he added.
Malaysia has the largest number of confirmed cases in Southeast Asia, with 125 new cases reported on Monday to push the overall tally to 553.
Many of the Malaysia’s new infections are linked to a religious gathering attended by about 16,000 people at Sri Petaling mosque near Kuala Lumpur, Health Minister Adham Baba said at a separate briefing. Neighboring countries have reported cases linked to the event, with Singapore extending its closure of mosques until March 26 on concern over the virus.
Singapore Supplies
A travel ban will have widespread effects outside Malaysia, perhaps nowhere more so than at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, where 300,000 people a day cross between Malaysia and Singapore, supplying the wealthy city-state with food, supplies and workers.
Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said his country is “not in danger of running out of food or other supplies brought in by our retailers. Singapore has worked to increase its stock of food, essential supplies over the last two months, he said in a post on Facebook. If needed, Singapore can ramp up local production of milk powder for infants and noodles, and relies on other countries, including China and Australia, for essentials like vegetables and eggs.
“Although we are not facing any shortages, I urge everyone to continue to purchase in a responsible manner and to purchase only what you need,” Chan said. “Otherwise, no amount of stockpiling will be sufficient.”
Singapore’s economic agencies are ready to help businesses who rely on Malaysian daily commuter workers, Chan said, adding they may need to activate business continuity plans.
Financial Crisis
Malaysia’s handling of the outbreak has been complicated by a power struggle that saw an abrupt change of government in late February after the shock resignation of former leader Mahathir Mohamad, who has warned that the current pandemic is set to hit global economies harder than even the 1997 financial crisis.
While Mahathir is a veteran with more than two decades spent as prime minister in two stints, Muhyiddin is only weeks into the role with a cabinet composed of many first-time ministers including for the health and finance portfolio. The new premier has sought to largely maintain his predecessor’s policies, including keeping a 20 billion ringgit ($4.7 billion) stimulus package and projects laid out in a budget drafted by the previous administration.
On Monday, Muhyiddin rolled out additions to the stimulus, including cash handouts for workers forced to take unpaid leave and discounts on electricity tariffs for tourism and other industries.
“It’s a bold move and its lauded,” Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, chief economist at Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd., said on Muhyiddin’s measures. “Yes, it could have an impact to the economy in the immediate term as economic activities would not operate as per normal. However, we could see a pent-up demand once the virus can be contained.”
Muhyiddin had earlier called off gatherings including sports events and international conferences through April, potentially disrupting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings set to be hosted in the country this year.
--With assistance from Hadi Azmi and Derek Wallbank.
To contact the reporters on this story: Anuradha Raghu in Kuala Lumpur at araghu3@bloomberg.net;Yantoultra Ngui in Kuala Lumpur at yngui@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Yudith Ho at yho35@bloomberg.net, Chan Tien Hin, Andrés R. Martinez
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