MCO to be reinstated in eight states including Selangor, KL, Penang – Jan 13 to Jan 26, 2021



Following the recent rise in daily Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today announced that the Movement Control Order (MCO) will be reinstated in selected red-zone states beginning midnight of January 13, 2021 (Wednesday) for two weeks, until the 26th of January.

The MCO will be split into three stages; States affected by the MCO are as follows:

  • Selangor
  • Wilayah Persekutuan (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan)
  • Penang
  • Melaka
  • Johor
  • Sabah

Meanwhile, the following states will be placed under Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO):

  • Pahang
  • Perak
  • Negeri Sembilan
  • Kedah
  • Terengganu
  • Kelantan

Lastly, the more relaxed Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) will be applied to the following states:

  • Perlis
  • Sarawak

For states being placed under the full MCO, all social activities, including meetings, wedding ceremonies, celebration of festivities, as well as contact/group sports are strictly prohibited. However, non-contact sports such as jogging and bicycling will be allowed during the MCO period, provided that social distancing of two metres is practised at all times; only two members of the same household will be allowed to carry out these activities together at one time.

Similar to measures during the initial MCO in March last year, inter-state and inter-district is also banned nationwide. For states placed under MCO, two people per household are allowed in a single vehicle, with movement restricted within a 10 km radius, to purchase essential goods and food.

Eateries located within the MCO regions will be operating on a take-away-only basis, while those located in RMCO and CMCO are allowed to operate according to the existing standard operating procedures (SOP).

During the MCO period, only five essential economic sectors – manufacturing, construction, service, trade and distribution, plantations and commodities – will be allowed to operate as usual. Supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and banks will continue to operate with precautions, while all other businesses are required to work from home.

For companies involved in the above sectors, only 30% of management-level workers will be allowed to work in the office at any given time, while the employers can determine the number of employees required to carry out day-to-day operations, taking into consideration the compliance of standard operating procedure.

Despite the movement restriction, students who are sitting for their 2020 and 2021 SPM papers will still be allowed to attend school. However, strict SOPs will be in place to ensure the wellbeing of these students.