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'Flexibility will help economic recovery'

KUALA LUMPUR: If employed properly, the proposed flexibility or special privileges for fully vaccinated people may not only restore the lives and livelihoods of the people, but also enable economic sectors to recover from the pandemic-induced crises.

Industry figures believe that the move, hinted at by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently, could also help accelerate the vaccination drive under the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme (NIP).

Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said such a move was not only good news for those longing to unite with their loved ones, but also for businesses.

"When the restrictions to curb the spread of the virus were introduced, many businesses, including restaurant operators, despite being allowed to cater for takeaways and deliveries, were severely affected.

"Many were forced to trim their workforce not only because of the sharp reduction in income, but also in playing their part to comply with standard operating procedures (SOP) to break virus transmission within the community.

"Providing special privileges such as allowing people to dine-in will certainly help restaurant operators recover from the impact of the measures in place. I am also sure that operators can adhere to the SOP if they are allowed to resume dine-in service," said Lee.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang is hoping that fully-vaccinated people would be allowed to travel interstate with stringent adherence to the SOP. Such a move, he said, would help kick-start the tourism industry and boost the economic recovery momentum.

"This will boost the business, social and leisure travel segments in tandem with government's aim to boost domestic tourism," said Tan.

During a special media interview on July 24, Muhyiddin had said that among the privileges being considered by the government for fully-inoculated people include allowing long-distance couples to cross districts or state borders as well as the resumption of sports and social activities.

Several retails groups recently called on the government to allow shops to reopen for business, as long as 70 per cent of public-facing workers have been fully-vaccinated.

In a joint statement, these associations said their proposed threshold was derived from the middle-ground of what constituted herd immunity, which is estimated by various sources to be achieved when 80 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.

The statement was jointly issued by the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA), Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA), Bumiputra Retailers Organisation (BRO), Malaysia REIT Managers Association (MRMA) and Malaysian Association of Theme Park and Family Attractions (Matfa).

They added that these businesses will only serve patrons who have completed their two-dose vaccinations.

Both Lee and Tan said providing privileges to the fully-vaccinated would encourage more people to get vaccinated under the NIP. Lee described the move, if adopted, as a "carrot approach" — a term he coined after "the carrot and stick" approach.

"By announcing some sort of incentive (privileges), it will encourage more people to turn up, register for the NIP and get themselves vaccinated," said Lee.

Tan said some 30 per cent of those in the tourism industry had already been vaccinated.

"We are not only looking forward to vaccinating our tourism workers but also hope more people will get vaccinated against the virus," Tan said.

The Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee, via its official Twitter account on July 30, said that 13.18 million people or 40.4 per cent the country's population had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

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