Covid-19: Businesses grapple with the effects of MCO

Coronavirus Pandemic affect Malaysia Economy

(C)TheStar

Last updated on May 7th, 2021 at 09:08 am

KUALA LUMPUR – The COVID-19 global pandemic and the resulting Movement Control Order to contain the disease could potentially push people to become poorer in 2020.

The COVID-19 global pandemic however benefitted the industry of e-commerce and companies selling masks, surgical gloves, ventilators, personal protective equipments and supplying boxes for food deliveries.

On the downside, the effects of after almost five weeks of lockdown inflicted a brutal blow and the reality that the rest of us have become poorer.

Hundreds of budget hotels around the country are on the verge of closing down. Airlines, tour operators and businesses were among the earliest to be hit hard. Most of the  small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were impacted as owners struggle to pay rentals and other operating costs due to zero revenues.

The income of most Malaysians has also been affected with food becoming more expensive eventually. Businesses who continue to struggle to earn revenue may cut employee to avoid bankrupt. Many people will need to remove non-essential expenses. With the world coping up with the ‘new normal’, People need to live much simpler lives for the mean time until the economy recovers from this pandemic.