THE Federal Government should pay heed to three groups of people, namely school and express bus operators and canteen operators, since all schools and vocational colleges have been closed from Nov 9 until the last day of the 2020 academic calendar year.
Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin made this appeal to the Federal Government as these three groups are badly affected by the Education Ministry’s decision to close the education institutions in states now undergoing the conditional movement control order (CMCO).
All states in Peninsular Malaysia, except for Kelantan, Perlis and Pahang, are under CMCO from Nov 9 until Dec 6.
“I sincerely hope the Federal Government will look into ways and means to assist these groups and allocate funds to them. I hope that can also be included in the Budget 2021,” said Sim when he visited the Batu Maung wet market today.
“These people, by and large, are massively affected by the CMCO and truly deserved to be assisted by all means.”
However, the ministry said students would continue with e-learning lessons, which are to be organised by teachers.
On another matter, Sim said although Malaysia is ranked fourth among the top countries for online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic, he called on fellow Malaysians not to neglect purchasing local products.
According to a report by an English daily, it was reported that Malaysia fell short just behind countries such as the United States of America, Russia and France.
“There is good and bad. The good part is that Malaysians have shown signs of adapting very well to digitalisation. On the other side, local traders are affected, which may not be so good for our local economy.
“If you’re buying products online, try and support local sellers as well. This will be truly helpful in our efforts to revive the country’s economy,” Sim added.
Story and pix by Kevin Vimal