MCO should be lifted in some areas, extended in others

An aerial photo of the usually crowded Pantai Tengah beach on Langkawi. If Malaysian islands record zero Covid-19 cases, the MCO should be lifted for them as long as district leaders then strictly control access to them for the next few months, says this letter writer. — Bernama

I read with surprise that the government will announce the decision on whether to prolong the movement control order (MCO) on April 10. The decision, they said, will be based on scientific evidence and data. But scientific evidence must be perused carefully before being used to make decisions affecting a diverse nation of 32 million people living from the border of Thailand to the archipelagos of the Sulu Sea.

I do not believe the MCO should be extended in all areas of Malaysia. If the government continues to believe that curtailing our movements will diminish the chain of transmission, they must use the MCO wisely by understanding the nuances in the data that they gather.