Why was the response in the delay in procuring vaccinations?;
How are we to have confidence with the Government when the first phase of the National Recovery Plan is already delayed?;
Why do you have so many restrictions for private pharmacies to procure and execute vaccines?;
Why are we still talking about Essential and Non Essential?;
Why in Selangor the highest number of cases, but yet the lowest number of vaccinated people?;
Why are we not tracking, tracing, and vaccinating in places where we see the clusters?;
Please explain why Malaysia is the last on this list to emerge from the pandemic?;
Why are we not getting experts?;
Why aren’t we getting the private industry in the decision-making process?;
What are we prepared to do? Do we have a plan B?
An “emergency” press conference was called upon by Industries Unite (IU) where prominent names such as Dato’ David Gurupatham, IU Co-Founder & Group Coordinator, Datuk Irwin SW Cheong, IU Co-Founder & Group Coordinator, Dato’ Tony Looi Chee Hong, National Vice President of SME Association of Malaysia, Tan Sri Dato’ Teo Chiang Kok, President of the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, Datuk Wira Ameer Ali Mydin, President of Bumiputera Retailers Organization, Ms Shirley Tay, President of Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA); Datuk Dr. AT Kumararajah, Secretary-General of Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Datuk Richard Koh, President of Malaysian Association of Amusement Theme Park & Family, Datin Winnie Loo, Vice President of Malaysian Hairdressing Association, as well as 115 Trade Associations & Chambers of Commerce members came together to discuss the need of a new strategy to deal with the pandemic as businesses are not able to sustain from the prolonged lockdowns. Present at the press conference were also four officers from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP).
16 months in, the country has gone through various types of lockdowns to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, yet the situation is still as critical as ever. Dato’ David Gurupatham said that for the past 6 months, the IU has warned that Malaysia will have to face mass unemployment by July 2021, should this “strategy” continue, as businesses will be forced to close and people lose their jobs in turn. He then stated that the suicidal rates are on a constant rise because of this; it is no longer a question of life versus livelihood, and a solution is desperately needed.
“It is very heart-breaking today to see people jumping off buildings, killing themselves, and suffering mentally because a lot of them are our employees, their families, people that have been laid off. With a whole generation of children that haven’t gone to school for 16 months, the future is affected because their objective of going to school is to be employed in businesses such as ours; so it’s not a question of life vs livelihood anymore, and that’s the point we’re trying to make. We need to have a new strategy, and we need a new narrative,” said Dato’ David Gurupatham.
Representing the IU, Dato’ David Gurupatham elaborated that a change of strategy is important because even if the National Security Council (MKN) is able to save the rakyat from the coronavirus, it defeats the purpose if people are going to die from starvation. As of now, people are still able to afford to look out for others through the White Flag Movement, but a time will come where this would not be possible as more people are likely to be retrenched if the situation continues.
Datuk Wira Ameer Ali Mydin, the founder of Mydin HyperMall, said that there has been an increase in thefts from Mydin stores, but not for big or expensive items. People have resorted to stealing fish and vegetables due to economic hardship and starvation. He added saying that the sale of noodles has also skyrocketed because that is all that the people can afford; it is a cheaper solution to getting fuller, faster.
A change is needed more than ever because Malaysia is on the list of countries that are likely to be the last to recover from the pandemic. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed that lockdowns are meant for the country to get things in order and extended lockdowns will indefinitely devastate the economy. Dato’ David Gurupatham then stated, “We are 16 months in, how much have we increased the capacity? Look at our stock market? Our stock market keeps dropping; that is where we are, unless we change our mindset; unless we change our thinking and come to a new strategy.”
There are new strategies and approaches that can be learned from neighboring countries. Singapore for example was willing to relook at their approach and they are now one of the top countries in the world in dealing with the pandemic. The data that we are seeing shows that we are far behind and that we are incapable of change. “Does that mean that we have made a mistake?”
A concerted effort between the Ministries and the people is essential to recover from this dire situation, but it starts from the top, and the leaders need to lead the people by example. It is no longer about reopening businesses, rather it is about the well-being and the mental health of people. The IU says they do not ask the Government to listen to them specifically, but listen to a broad group of people and engage some of the best minds in this country to come to a solution.
“We are you have given a very concise new narrative new strategy; we have written to the Prime Minister; We have published it on the press; We haven’t even gotten a courtesy of a reply; We support the Government of the Day; We have no choice, but now we are talking about the future of our children; we’re now talking about the future of the people; we’re not gonna be having employability for a while now; a whole generation of children, young people; we need to act now,” he concluded.
Datuk Irwin SW Cheong claimed that a 1 Year Recovery Plan together with a 3 Years Stabilization Plan is needed, and if the Government doesn’t do anything, then the country will face a huge unemployment issue. He said that when IU started last year, it represented 3.3 million businesses, but now he dare not say how many are left because a big number of them has dissolved. With an assumption that half of them are still alive and are employing a minimum of two staff, then there will easily be 3 million people that are out of jobs. The tragedy they predicted has finally come to bite them in the back.
Tan Sri Dato’ Teo Chiang Kok commented that immediate actions must be taken. “If you can lockdown building by building for KL, why can’t you do the same for Selangor instead of the whole district? Please release us from the unnecessary lockdown statewide.” Then added saying, “I am proud to say that more than 60 malls have volunteered to host this at their malls at very deep subsidies and costs. Authorities were happy about this but then asked to postpone this till August. And yet at the same time, we see so many commercial vaccination centers coming up, charging RM300 to RM400. The lockdown should be relooked and those outside the red zones should open up immediately.”
Dato’ Tony Looi Chee Hong said that they aren’t fighting the Government on this matter, they are merely trying to provide valuable inputs and recommendations to resolve the issue. He further questioned why shopping malls and retail stores are closed while hawker stores that attract massive crowds are allowed to open. The SOPs are unclear, hence the National Recovery plan is gonna be the same messy unclear situation. “We need our Govt to listen and take action. If not, we will be bringing our White Flags to the Parliament tomorrow,” he stated.
Datuk Dr. AT Kumararajah expressed that though the Government has announced 8 stimulus packages, and to many of the business owners, this is not a “stimulus package” because it only works when the economy is open. Half the economy is inactive, so the GDP is not moving, and that defeats the purpose of a stimulus package. Moving forward, as we live alongside Covid-19, the country must look into spending more on health care. Malaysia is currently only spending 2-2.5% of the GDP for healthcare in comparison to other countries that are spending 4-6%.
Ms. Shirley Tay enlightened the media saying that they have not given up on the people. Despite all the losses, they are still doing their part in helping out the community, especially, the less fortunate. As part of the White Flag Movement initiative, MRCA and the Direct Selling Association of Malaysia (DSAM) are working together to provide immediate assistance to those in need of food supplies. She understands that while some have had their salary reduced, many have lost their jobs and are struggling to put food on the table. To date, the two associations have committed funds of RM400,000 to purchase essential food items for those who are struggling. She said, “Please be informed that we are not linked to any political party, for heaven’s sake. We are not interested. We are NGOs. We just want to help. We have suffered a great deal, but we know the public and the less fortunate need us to help them pull through this difficult time. We don’t want to see suicide cases increasing every day. The more people care, the more people can help out. Satu Hati, Satu Suara!”
