GEORGE TOWN (June 9): Penang will fully implement the recovery movement control order (RMCO) for business and economic sectors statewide starting tomorrow as the federal government has announced, Chief Minister Y.A.B. Chow Kon Yeow said.

He said the proposal was unanimously approved in the Penang State Security Special Committee (JKKN) meeting he chaired today.

The meeting also agreed that other sectors in the prohibited category list prior to this would be opened in phases as announced by the federal government from time to time.

“The JKKN will head the state-level monitoring committee on the implementation of the seven core RMCO strategies and the normalisation phase announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and will be implemented at the state level in a coordinated and integrated manner,” he said in a live post on his Facebook page today.

With the announcement, he pointed out that the allegations that Penang did not want to comply with the RMCO, which had been announced by the Federal Government, were false.

According to Chow, the minutes of the JKKN meeting dated June 2 had agreed that the MCO could still be extended but needed to be in line with the socio-economic recovery and subject to the federal government’s decision.

“Through my media statement on the 7th of June 2020, 7.13pm, it is clear that I asserted that Penang will enforce RMCO as announced by the Prime Minister.” clarified Chow.

He further commented that the state government was always ready and welcomed the calls and announcements by the federal government.

“As emphasised at the outset, any decision made by the state government is based on the health and socio-economic balance of the people in the state or, synonymously, ‘we need to safeguard our lives and our livelihood’,” he said.

In a separate development, Kon Yeow who is also the Penang Exco of Land Affairs amd Land Development, Transportation and Communications, expressed his confidence for Penang to still be on tract to realise its Vision Penang2030 to become A Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation.

“As of today, the industries in Penang are gradually returning to normal even though it may take some time to return a better economic achievement. 

“Even though the national unemployment rates has increased from 3.3 percent on February 2020 to 3.9 percent in March 2020, the job market in Penang remains strong and requires employees from a host of industries whereby the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) expects the state of Penang to be able to offer 18,886 valuable career opportunities from various investments this year. 

In the meantime, he was confident that Penang would re-emerge as a popular tourist destination through the state’s Tourism Recovery Action Plan as it remained a green and safe zone for tourists and local communities.

“The concept of ‘responsible tourism’ will be incorporated into the Tourism Recovery Action Plan to ensure the viability of the sector,” he said.