Malaysia to ease curbs from June 10 to allow domestic travel, social activities

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia will further ease its coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday, with nearly all social, economic and religious activities set to restart while adhering to strict social distancing protocols and safety measures.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced Sunday that the government would allow domestic travel, limited social activities and reopen schools in stages under the "recovery movement control order" phase, which runs from Wednesday until Aug 31.

"Health Ministry statistics show that the rate of infection has been dropping and is under control," he said in an address broadcast nationally across social media and television channels.

The movement control order was first relaxed on May 4, six weeks after strict restrictions that closed most of the economy and the country's borders were first imposed.

The government has sought to restart commercial activity in stages, amid rising unemployment that has reached its highest in a decade.

Most businesses were allowed to reopen in May, with strict social distancing protocols in place. However schools remain shut while social gatherings and inter-state travel are banned.

On Saturday the government said hair salons and beauty parlours would be allowed to open from Wednesday, while open-air markets and bazaars can resume operations from June 15.

The number of new coronavirus cases have largely been in the double digits across the past eight weeks, with spikes mostly due to clusters among undocumented migrants held in detention centres.

Saturday saw 37 new coronavirus cases, taking the cumulative total to 8,304, and one new death, raising total fatalities to 117.

Kuala Lumpur had, as at April, rolled out RM260 billion (S$85 billion) in stimulus packages to cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic.

The government says these plans - which have cost the Treasury RM35 billion in direct fiscal injections - have saved 2.4 million jobs, ensured cashflow to 11 million people and propped up over 300,000 companies.

On Friday, it announced an additional stimulus package - the "national economy recovery plan" - worth RM35 billion that will cost public coffers another RM10 billion.

Malaysia expects the economy to go into recession this year, with unemployment set to reach as high as 5.5 per cent out of the 16 million-strong labour force.

THE STRAITS TIMES