Can We Survive Another Lockdown
The COVID-19 pandemic which started back in March 2020 has crippled our country’s economy, leading to disruptions across various industries. Due to the nationwide lockdowns, we’ve seen a cessation in a huge swath of our economic sectors, some closed temporarily whilst others permanently. Despite more leniency with the current lockdown, the disallowing of daily activities will surely deal a great blow to our already tired and bruised businesses, workers, students, parents, and families bringing about social ills such as depression, mental illness, domestic violence, etc.
The breadth and depth of the assistance provided during lockdown will be the critical juncture in whether Malaysia would be on the right track to achieving an equitable future as envisioned in the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV 2030). The government has to strike a delicate balance between its responsibility of protecting the populace from the virus (and sanity!) and achieving SPV 2030’s goals of development for all and addressing wealth & income disparity.
By: Aamil Azhar, Research Analyst at Institut Masa Depan
Download the full report from the session below: