KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the world creating new epicentres, Malaysia is taking a pragmatic approach in extending the movement control order (MCO) for another two weeks while relaxing certain regulations, says an analyst.

Juwai IQI chief economist Shan Saeed said the government’s decision to extend the MCO while accommodating the need to move forward was surely based on the need to ensure that people are protected and come back to work with solid confidence so as to brighten the economic outlook.

“It was a tough call but in these challenging times, you have to take bold and courageous decisions in order to send strong signals to the market,” he told Bernama.

Shan said it is encouraging that the government has allowed selected small and big players to start opening their businesses to kickstart the economic recovery process.