KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (July 2): Local manufacturers today urged the government to move on with Phase 2 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) as soon as possible to avoid irreparable and irrevocable harm to their businesses and the economy. Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai, president of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), said in a statement today that the manufacturing industry has already been adversely damaged by non-essential sector closures and reduced capacity operations in key sectors.
“We have requested that the government reassess the three NRP thresholds for a faster transition to Phase 2 and open up additional sectors to minimize business and economic damage,” he said.
The three critical indications are the number of daily new Covid-19 cases falling below 4,000, the rate of bed occupancy in the intensive care unit (ICU) remaining modest, and the vaccination of 10% of the population, which is expected to be reached in July or August.
According to Soh, the latest news of an indefinite extension of Phase 1 has caused additional worry and anxiety among most industries about the future viability of their businesses due to the lengthy lockdown.
He cited Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking, which ranked Malaysia 51st out of 53 economies globally, saying the study found that the speed of vaccination is critical for economies to return to normalcy, allowing them to relax restrictions, dismantle border barriers, and reduce the need for lockdowns.
“The government should focus on pushing large-scale immunization rather than reducing incidence because this is the only way to return to pre-pandemic times,” he said.
Malaysia’s poor rating, he added, was due to its slow vaccination roll-out, prolonged lockdowns, and tight borders.
“While there is still a risk of a rise in cases, particularly due to new and more severe forms of the virus,” he said, “it is clear that a rapid vaccination roll-out has proven to be important in the reopening of economies.”
The FMM also recommended that the government consider urgently reviewing the NRP’s three thresholds, as well as other critical actions for a faster transition to Phase 2 and the opening up of more sectors to minimize damage to businesses and the economy, as well as specific actions for areas subject to the enhanced movement control order (EMCO).
Given current trends and infection projections, Soh believes that waiting for the figure to fall below 4,000 daily new cases, as well as the uncertainty of achieving that goal, before expanding the essential economic sector list and increasing workforce capacity, will effectively “kill” the manufacturing industry.
“To interrupt the chain of infections, FMM implores the government to establish state or area-specific lockdowns targeted at the largest number of cases,” he said.
To reduce the impact on business and the economy, he suggested that states/areas with fewer and well-managed cases be permitted to function without difference between important and non-essential industries.
He called for the government to expedite mass testing of everyone, including foreign workers and undocumented foreign workers, within the two-week EMCO period in the states/areas that have been put under targeted lockdown/EMCO, including the latest announcement of the EMCO covering a large number of districts/mukims under Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
He also encouraged the government to confirm vaccination appointments for everyone covered by the National Immunization Program (PICK) and the Public-Private Partnership Industrial Covid-19 Immunisation Program (PIKAS) so that concerned industries can resume operations after the EMCO period ends.
Furthermore, he stated that companies using the Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) approved by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in the warm idle mode should be allowed to continue operating at 10% capacity under the EMCO because switching machinery and equipment off and on is costly.
Apart from the current common-use vaccine dispensing centres (PPVs) and on-site PPVs facilities, he also encouraged the government to speed and expedite the PICK, including the vaccination of economic sectors via the PIKAS, including supporting mobile clinics through mobile trucks/buses.
He also suggested that the government prioritize PIKAS for high-risk states or localities, particularly the Klang Valley.
Meanwhile, FMM has urged the government to allow private hospitals and clinics to participate in a parallel vaccination program, as well as for the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) to accept World Health Organization-approved vaccines without imposing additional national requirements, allowing the private sector to purchase vaccines not used by the National Immunization Program and expediting the process.
“If vaccine delivery is a constraint, the present criteria of at least 10% fully vaccinated should be changed to 10% with at least one vaccination dosage, and a minimum threshold within each firm should be established so that companies can operate and/or increase capacity,” he said.
Companies that choose private immunisation should be able to deduct the cost from their Human Resources Development levy and, if applicable, obtain a tax deduction.
FMM also argued that a ceiling price for private immunisation should be set based on the cost of the vaccine in order to prevent profiteering by the parties involved.
Instead of waiting for ICU bed use to drop to moderate levels, Soh believes the government should enhance ICU capacity.
“While waiting for the immunisation to be completed, continue mass testing of the general public, including foreign workers, particularly those who are undocumented, as mass testing has been shown to be a highly effective method of detecting positive cases and initiating the necessary tracing, isolation, and treatment protocols.”
FMM also encouraged the government to develop a comprehensive vaccination policy for undocumented foreign workers, saying that if they are not vaccinated, they will jeopardize the achievement of herd immunity.
“A comprehensive strategy and action plans (are also needed) to address the pandemic’s anticipated shift to an endemic state, as well as how the people will have to ‘live with it,” Soh added./n
