🇲🇾 Take three for Malaysia's lockdown

Hello friends!

Today is the first day of the third lockdown in Malaysia. The why and how is below and I’m looking forward to bringing you more analysis in the coming weeks (how does this work with the Emergency plan?). 

It’s always a good idea to sign up for the Between the Lines daily newsletter covering Malaysia, but now more so than ever! BTL is invaluable for following trends and developments, so I’ll be sticking close over the coming weeks.

Malaysia will lockdown for the third time amid spiking cases, the government confirmed Monday. It is currently reporting below 4,000 new cases a day although that figure is steadily trending upwards and sparking fears of a public health collapse. 

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced the shutdown beginning today until June 7. 

Malaysiakini lays out how this lockdown will look exactly. Movement between states is restricted, events and gatherings put on hold, schools shut and restrictions on personnel in offices. This is devastating news just a day before Eid celebrations are set to begin, putting a pin in the holiday for the second year running. 

The decision does seem to have come as a bit of a shock. Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob spent Saturday telling reporters that targeted movement control orders (MCO) would likely be expanded beyond Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and Johor, all of which have been in varying shades of lockdown. 

The same day, health-director general Dr Noor Hisham warned media that decisive action must be taken with new variants capable of spreading faster and wider. "According to the current Rt value of 1.1 projection, it is estimated that daily cases would reach 5,000 in two to three weeks,” he said, as reported by Channel News Asia.  

At a later press conference, Ismail Sabri said the third lockdown won’t be as harsh as the first two. Balancing public health and the economy has been a struggle everywhere. In Malaysia the cost of shutting down previously was RM2.4 billion (US$582.7 million) daily, with the brunt felt by small operators, Channel News Asia reports. 

The announcement shocked the market with stocks and the Ringgit both falling, according to Bloomberg. Analysts told Bloomberg that they are somewhat surprised with the decision, particularly given the Prime Minister’s previous comments that lockdowns would be highly localised and targeted. 

They’re not the only ones launching criticism. During the press conference, Ismail Sabri was forced to swat down accusations that the government had failed to take the looming threat of another wave seriously. "Some people say we are not serious (in dealing with the crisis). The National Security Council has been meeting three times a week now, as opposed to once a week previously," he said, which kinda feels like a self-own. 

Still, there’s politics and then there’s life. 

"I haven't gone back for Raya for nearly two years now and I haven't seen my parents in all that time," 40-year-old Mohd Rezuan Othman told Reuters shortly after the announcement.  

Another quiet Eid in Malaysia, but here’s hoping third time's the charm.