Former prime minister Najib Razak has questioned the government’s decision to allow the construction and manufacturing sectors to stay open during the latest movement control order when “60% of Covid-19 clusters come from these sectors”.
In a Facebook post, Najib further asked if the government was only keen on saving the businesses of the rich.
He said all other local sectors such as tourism, education and small businesses have been told to close but not the construction and manufacturing sectors that were owned by big business and foreigners.
“Do only big towkeys (bosses) and foreign owners need to get an income while millions of Malaysians from other local sectors don’t?” he asked.
Najib Razak is asking if the government cares for the tycoons, but not the many small businessmen.
Citing the various MCOs imposed in several areas from Jan 11 this year, he said the tourism sector, in particular, fed millions of people, but it had been closed ever since the state borders were closed. He added that those in the entertainment sector had been without income for the last five months.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) has said that one of the main reasons for the rise in workplace infections is the suspension of the minimum workers’ housing regulation until the end of the year.
NUBE secretary J Solomon claimed the sharp rise in workplace clusters could be directly attributed to the workers’ poor housing and sanitation.
On April 22, human resources minister M Saravanan announced that the government had agreed to relax the enforcement of rules governing workers’ housing standards until the end of the year following calls from employers to be given more time as many companies were still recovering from the pandemic.
Yesterday, Bernama reported Saravanan as denying it had suspended enforcement, saying enforcement operations were constantly being carried out to ensure compliance with the Covid-19 SOPs.
“There are also reports claiming that the increase in the number of Covid-19 clusters was due to the suspension. This is not true and has caused confusion among the people,” he said. – FMT