Companies allowed to operate during MCO can go full capacity, says Azmin

PETALING JAYA: Economic sectors allowed to operate at half capacity during phases one to three of the movement control order (MCO) are allowed to carry on business at full capacity from Wednesday (April 29).

These companies must, however, comply with the established standard operating procedure (SOP) in their respective sectors, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali (pic).

"Those that fail to do so will be terminated and immediate legal action will be taken.

"Companies that have already been approved need not apply to Miti," he said in a statement on Tuesday (April 28).

"While the government has allowed some leniency, business owners still need to adhere to the 'new normal' by following social distancing rules in the workplace and health control guidelines," he added.

According to Azmin, the Economic Action Council (EAC) held a meeting with the Prime Minister on Monday morning (April 27) to discuss the economic crisis and possible remedies.

He said the National Security Council (NSC) meeting, which included the Prime Minister, Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers, agreed to allow economic sectors that were given permission to operate at full capacity without any time constraints.

The decision comes after the EAC convened on Monday (April 27) to evaluate the latest economic and financial situation, as well as the well-being of Malaysians.

Azmin added that the meeting focused on the need to “restart and revive” the overall economic supply chain that would help businesses to “operate fully, rebuild affected stocks, as well as to enable efficient delivery of services and goods to customers”.

Through this initiative, he said the government hoped to revitalise the supply chain of goods and services to meet both domestic and foreign demands with the positive impact, especially on small-medium enterprises (SMEs).