KUALA LUMPUR: The government's decision to bar house-to-house visits during Hari Raya Aidilfitri may have drawn flak from the people but the action was to avert a further surge of Covid-19 infections that could hit tens of thousands of cases daily after the festive period.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he was aware that the decision, which included barring interstate and inter-district travel as well as social activities among others, was met with criticisms for not allowing people to 'balik kampung' and visit their friends and families.
"I know it was not a popular decision and may not satisfy everyone. Some had scolded me. They questioned why we are doing this when Muslims are celebrating the first day of Aidilfitri tomorrow.
"Is this government cruel? I am not cruel. I made the decision to protect your lives and your future. If I allow it, who knows if your guests are Covid-19 positive or asymptomatic or unaware that he or she has been infected and goes on passing the virus to others at different homes?
"The situation makes it even hard to break the Covid-19 infection chain. If she or he visits 10 homes, then 10 family members would contract the virus.
"In the end, the moment we finish celebrating Aidilfitri, the positive cases in the country may jump to tens of thousands a day. Do not fool around. This is a tough decision but it had to be made," he said in his Aidilfitri address tonight.
The prime minister said he felt that he made the right decision by imposing travel restrictions despite the public's anger towards him over the government's efforts to protect all from the coronavirus.
Given the latest discoveries involving new Covid-19 variants and the rapid virus transmissions, Muhyiddin said the nation was now at a critical juncture, requiring the government's swift response.
"If no strict or drastic action was taken, our nation could plunge into a health catastrophe and lead to a severe national crisis. Therefore, I announced the nationwide Movement Control Order two days ago," he said.
While there was no guarantee that the government's various steps would lead to a 100 per cent drop in Covid-19 numbers, Muhyiddin said it was all dependent on how far the people adhered to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to stop the Covid-19 infection from spreading.
He added that it all depended on the people's self-discipline in adhering to the SOP, which in turn would see lower Covid-19 numbers, resulting in the coronavirus becoming weak and the transmission to cease.
Muhyiddin said this could be achieved by avoiding crowded spaces, large gatherings, practice physical distancing and regular hand washing avoid sitting closely near another person and emphasis on personal hygiene.
"If there are no important matters, stay home. If you can do these simple things, the Covid-19 coronavirus will weaken and the transmission will stop. I plead to all of you to heighten discipline and comply with the SOP at all times.
"We are living in a pandemic. It is like we are living in a time of war. We need to seek shelter at all times to save our lives and the best (solution) is to stay in our own home. Take this as a sacrifice in our battle against this pandemic.
"We have successfully flattened the Covid-19 curve in the first wave and the numbers of infections during the second wave.
"InsyaAllah, with our self-discipline in the Covid-19 fight, we will successfully beat the third wave which we are facing now. InsyaAllah, we will be victorious," said Muhyiddin.