A summary of the decisions made are as follows:

1. The Penang state government acknowledges the additional 9 business sectors to be granted permission to operate during the MCO period. The state government will await further guidelines on the execution of this new arrangement from the relevant ministries.
2. The Penang state government takes the balance of the health and well being of its citizens seriously and have gathered feedback from the public relating to the approval of barbers to continue operations. More than 95% of the feedback gathered has expressed their concern in regards to the hygiene and social distancing at barber shops as many utensils are shared between many people. There is high concern that new clusters could emerge as a result of this.
3. Services involving agriculture, hardware, animal feed, vets and pet food will have operation hours extended to 5pm from 2pm previously. These sectors will be allowed to operate from 8am to 5pm for two days a week on Mondays and Thursdays only.
4. Initiatives to disinfect public areas as advised by the Ministry of Health and Penang State Health Departments have proven to be ineffective in curbing the spread of the virus. Instead, it is of utmost importance for each of us to maintain good personal hygiene. Wash your hands and bathe every time you need to go out for errands. This is the most effective way to keep yourself and your family safe from the virus.

Penangites are once again reminded to observe the MCO and give their fullest cooperation, as well as practice good personal hygiene. Together we will be able to come out of this pandemic on top.

For the full press statement, please read the below:

Pada Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Khas Keselamatan Negeri (JKKN) Pulau Pinang yang dipengerusikan oleh Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang YAB Chow Kon Yeow pagi tadi, beberapa ketetapan serta makluman telah diputuskan oleh ahli-ahli mesyuarat, antaranya:

(i) Berhubung sembilan (9) sektor pengilangan dan perkhidmatan tambahan yang dibenarkan beroperasi secara berperingkat hasil daripada pengumuman Kerajaan Pusat semalam, Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang dan Mesyuarat ambil maklum, namun kita menunggu perincian lanjut daripada kementerian-kementerian berkaitan berhubung garis panduan pelaksanaannya.

Bagi Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang, pendirian kami adalah lebih tertumpu kepada keseimbangan antara kesihatan awam dan kehidupan rakyat di negeri ini. Saya tertarik dengan ungkapan ini: “Safeguarding our lives and our livelihoods,” the shock to our lives and livelihoods from the virus-suppression efforts could be the biggest of the past 100 years. If we do not stop the virus, many people will die. If attempts to stop the pandemic cause severe damage to social and economic networks, people will experience large-scale suffering in the medium and long term”. Itulah cabaran yang kita perlu hadapi.

(ii) Bagi sektor perkhidmatan gunting rambut asas yang turut diumumkan, Kerajaan Negeri memandang serius berhubung peratusan lebih daripada 95 peratus maklum balas awam yang menyatakan kebimbangan mereka. Malah, Mesyuarat turut mengambil kira persoalan-persoalan seperti faktor-faktor penjarakan sosial dan juga kemungkinan menyebabkan wujudnya kluster baru. Justeru, Mesyuarat memutuskan bahawa Kerajaan Negeri berhak untuk tidak mengikut keputusan Kerajaan Pusat sekiranya ia masih dilaksanakan, dan berharap Kerajaan Pusat akan mengkaji semula perkara ini demi keselamatan semua pihak.

(iii) Bagi perkhidmatan-perkhimatan penjualan kedai input pertanian (baja/racun); hardware; penjualan makanan haiwan kesayangan dan ubatan yang diumumkan pada 3 April lalu, tempoh operasi akan dilanjutkan kepada jam 5 petang iaitu 8 pagi hingga 5 petang berbanding kini, 8 pagi hingga 2 petang. Hari pengoperasian masih dikekalkan iaitu dua (2) kali seminggu pada hari Isnin dan Khamis. (iv) Bagi disinfeksi kawasan umum, menurut nasihat yang diterima daripada Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) dan juga Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Pulau Pinang (JKNPP), inisiatif ini adalah tidak membantu dalam pembasmian kuman serta virus wabak. Apa yang lebih penting adalah kebersihan diri. Amalkan kebersihan diri sebagaimana disarankan iaitu basuh tangan dan mandi selepas terlibat dengan pergerakan di luar daripada rumah.

(iv) Bagi disinfeksi kawasan umum, menurut nasihat yang diterima daripada Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) dan juga Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Pulau Pinang (JKNPP), inisiatif ini adalah tidak membantu dalam pembasmian kuman serta virus wabak. Apa yang lebih penting adalah kebersihan diri. Amalkan kebersihan diri sebagaimana disarankan iaitu basuh tangan dan mandi selepas terlibat dengan pergerakan di luar daripada rumah.

As such the government has considered to approve some additional sectors to continue operations in the hopes to bolster the economy once this madness is over.

Since March 18, at the start of the MCO, the Malaysian government has taken pro-active steps in balancing the country’s economic sustainability by allowing critical economic sectors such as medical and basic needs sectors to operate. However, operations are governed by strict conditions set by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

The Cabinet, following the presentations and findings by MITI, the Ministry of Finance, Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Bank Negara, has decided to allow several additional economic sectors to continue operations in phases. Again, operations of these businesses need to adhere to strict health and safety guidelines.

This decision is to alleviate the detrimental effects that the MCO would have on the economy and well-being of the people, especially SMEs which comprise the largest contributor to the nation’s workforce.

MITI has reviewed the additional sectors that are allowed to operate based on the following considerations:

– importance in the global value chain or GVC and the country’s exports. This step is to ensure the stability of export activities;

– activity of economic sectors with high value-added multiplier;

– impact on the sustainability of SMEs in the economic sector, particularly in manufacturing and services; and

– size of workforce involved.

Below is a list of the additional sectors approved for operation during MCO upon approval:

• Automotive industry (limited to exports of CBU, parts and components, as well as after-sales services, e.g. repair and maintenance).
• Machinery and equipment industry.
• Aerospace industry
• Construction projects and services related to construction works:
  • Projects whereby the main contractors are G1–G2
  • Projects that have achieved physical progress of 90% and above
  • Tunneling works
  • Maintenance works
  • Sloping works
  • Emergency works that are consequent to contractual obligations
  • Maintenance, cleaning and drying of stagnant water, spraying of pesticides at construction sites which prevent the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes and other pests
  • Other works that if left incomplete may result in danger
  • Building projects with 70 IBS score and above
  • Construction projects with accommodation facilities for workers, such as centralized quarters for workers or workers’ camp
  • Professional services related to the construction industry including architects, engineers, town-planners, land surveyors, quantity surveyors, project managers, facility managers as well as other relevant services
• Hardware shops, electrical and electronic (E&E) shops and optometrists in the wholesale and retail industry
• Barber shops (offering haircuts only)
• Laundry services (only those offering full-service and does not include self-service launderettes)

This will officially bring the MCO into its third phase. According to the Prime Minister, the nation’s effort to control the positive COVID-19 cases is at 7% at the moment, which is shy of 3% below the WHO benchmark of 10%. Not too bad we think, but we can definitely do better.

The death toll in the country is also relatively low, which is 1.6% compared to a global average of 5.8%. To date, 1,830 patients have been discharged from the hospital, which means we have a 43% recovery rate out of all positive cases. Kudos to our front-liners and medical staff. In fact, it is reported that we have 222 recoveries today compared to only 118 new positive cases!

This shows an overall downtrend of newly reported positive cases over the past few days. If this keeps up in the next two weeks then we would have successfully put this COVID-19 pandemic under control.

However, the government has decided to extend the MCO for another two weeks, till 28 April 2020 to allow medical staff to fully get this pandemic under control. This is inline with the advice from the Health Ministry as well as WHO’s advise to countries to not end movement controls too early, as seen in a few countries, this resulted in a sudden spike of new cases once the movement control was ended.

The police, army, maritime, immigration, RELA and other enforcement agencies have also been ordered to further tighten control of the country’s borders.

The Prime Minister also mentioned that the past few months have been different for all of us, and he called to Malaysians to embrace this new normal as we are unable to continue as we are used to at the moment. Gestures such as shaking hands have become a taboo, which may seem odd at first, but is necessary to keep the spread of the virus at bay. He advised that we may bow instead as a show of respect in this new normal, instead of shaking hands.

The new normal may not all be bad, as it has instilled some good habits in us, such as washing our hands often and taking more care of our personal hygiene. So we suppose this is the silver lining to this crisis?

Our Prime Minister also mentioned that he understands that the country’s economy has been affected due to the MCO, as such the government has agreed to allow certain economic sectors to continue operations in stages, with strict health and movement guidelines. Further discussions will be made with the relevant ministries and more information will be released later.

He stressed that this is not a sign of loosening the MCO, the MCO still applies strictly to everyone, and any businesses, companies, factories that are found to defy the order will have their operations permit retracted.

We at Penangite also understand that these are trying times, and we wish everyone to give their fullest cooperation to the government to quickly quell this crisis. This is the only way for all our lives to return to normal as soon as possible. With that we hope everyone stays healthy and stays safe in this time of crisis, and please obey the MCO!

Below we attach the original speech by our Prime Minister in full for those who missed the live telecast earlier. Till later Penangites!

Try out one of the following and we’re sure the 14 days will fly by quickly for you.

Read a Book

This is the best way to actually make full use of your time.

Read up all those books that you have purchased during Big Bad Wolf or Popular Book Fairs.

We believe that you will be able to at least finish 2 books in 14 days time.

Exercise

Going to the gym may be a bit risky for both yourself and others.

However you can always do some simple exercises at home such as planks, push-ups, sit-ups and many more home exercises.

It is crucial to stay active and healthy to keep the virus at bay.

Learn to Cook

We usually put off cooking with the excuse of not having enough time due to work.

Now might be a good time to pick up some culinary skills with the extra time at home.

Learn how to be a master chef, or at the very least learn how to fry an egg.

Play Video Games

Missing out on some game time due to lack of time from work and the other nitty gritty of life?

Well, time to whip out that controller and fire up your PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC or whatever gaming machine you have and go on an adventure!

You can also play with friends online from a safe distance!

Housekeeping

Was the last time you cleaned your house before a major festive season such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya or Deepavali?

If you answered yes to the above then now’s the perfect chance to clean up that den of yours and make sure it’s 100% virus free!

Build Lego Sets

This is mainly for Lego fans, but hey you can always get your first Lego set and try it out as well.

We warn you though, you may get hooked!

Now’s the time to complete those sets you’ve put off for months.

Digital Housekeeping

Is your mobile phone or computer running a bit slow lately? This is probably due to too much ‘junk’ building up in your device.

Take the time to clear off unused files and put your device back in optimal performance!

Clear some Work

For the work fanatics, what better time to have some ‘quality work time’ without the disturbance of pesky colleagues and non-stop meetings.

Get in there and clear some serious work that had been piling up previously and you will return to the office with a fresh start.

Build Puzzles

We need to keep our minds sharp and alert even in our downtime.

What better way to work the mind than working on some Jigsaw Puzzles.

Once you’re done, you will have a new piece of art to decorate your home with to boot!

Learn Programming

Ever wondered how apps or video games are made? Well the simple answer is programming.

The not so simple answer is how does programming work?

Why not pick up a new skill and try your hand at doing some programming.

You may find your hidden passion for code maybe?