Writer: Vimala Shanmugam
Editor: Nazrin Sarnin
Source: Facebook user Siti Syakhila shared photos she took at Kenanga Wholesale City, KL this morning.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 - The Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) commenced today to an overwhelming mixture of responses from netizens on social media.
Unlike the MCO that was enforced from March 18 to May 3, the new CMCO is less rigid, with trips of no more than four people from a family now allowed in one vehicle at a time, less roadblocks, and many economic sectors slowly resuming work according to standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the authorities.
However, not all netizens are happy about these new rules and changes, choosing to voice their doubts, fears and even anger on social media. Primarily concerning other citizens taking advantage of the relaxation to leave their homes in droves.
A petition was started on Change.org to urge the government to cancel the CMCO a few days back, which gained nearly 500,000 signatures, and many others had #CMCO trending on social media while they addressed their concerns since the relaxation was announced during Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s public address on Friday (May 1).
“There’s a sense of dread and overall anxiousness in me about [May 4],” said Twitter user Praveena (@praveenak). “I can’t help thinking about all the ways this #CMCO could go wrong and land us back at square one. Fingers crossed society is responsible enough to make this work.”
“I am worried the CMCO would only spell disaster for Malaysia, similar to what happened in Hokkaido,” says Magaswari, 52, a concerned citizen. “They managed to bring their cases down to single digits, but lifting their lockdown caused the spike in cases to be even worse.”
The MCO was previously extended until May 12 by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin during his public address on April 23.
