Harapan Youth National Recovery Plan Just A Rebrand Of Mco

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The National Recovery Plan is just a rebrand of the movement control order (MCO) implemented last year and it does not contain any added value to revive the country from the Covid-19 pandemic, said Pakatan Harapan Youth.
In a joint statement today, PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasir, Amanah Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin and DAP Youth chief Howard Lee renewed their call for the Perikatan Nasional government led by Muhyiddin Yassin to step down and give way to those capable to get the country out of the pandemic.
"The plan sounds grand, but it lacks a holistic plan to get the country out of the pandemic.
"There is no added value to the implementation of the MCO at this phase. The unclear standard operating procedure still haunts the rakyat. Various exceptions have been given to the economic sectors and yet they produced no good result in containing the pandemic," they said.
They also criticised the four-phase exit plan which neglected the education sector and other sectors that were badly impacted by the Covid-19.
"For example, the government will allow 80 percent labour capacity in the economic sectors during the second phase when the economic sector is the biggest contributor to the surge of daily cases.
"No attention is given to issues related to the welfare of the people and ways to reduce their burden. No additional initiatives or assistance were mentioned. 
"It’s the same with the government's plan on the vaccination programme which was not clearly outlined in the recovery plan. This would mean that the people will continue to suffer until the end of the year," they said.
They added that the prime minister repeatedly expressed his concern over the impact of the pandemic on the economy but fell short in expressing sympathy and concern over the recent surge of Covid-19 fatalities.
"Overall, we find that this is a hasty plan to prove it is a concerned government," they said.
They also questioned if the latest plan is just an emergency plan to cover up the failure of the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan, which was unveiled in April.
"We conclude that this was merely a rhetorical plan to cover up the failure of the government in containing the pandemic.
"It's time for the government to apologise and step down in an 'honourable' way. Return it to the leadership that is able to get the country out of the pandemic and economic downturn which have been haunting the country for the past year," they said.
Muhyiddin yesterday announced the recovery plan which outlined the criteria that must be met in order for the Covid-19 restrictions to be eased over four phases.
At present, only essential economic services are allowed to operate.
However, the government hopes to move to Phase 2 by July where some economic sectors will be allowed to open if average daily cases fall below 4,000.
Putrajaya expects to move to Phase 3 by September where the social sector is also expected to reopen if the average daily cases dip under 2,000 and the vaccination rate hits 40 percent.

By November, the government expects a full reopening of the economy if the average daily cases can fall below 500 and the vaccination rate reaches 60 percent.

 - Mkini

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