KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Putrajaya’s recent decision to allow the economic sector to continue operating even as the country is in the midst of rising Covid-19 cases and deaths have been met with major backlash from citizens.

However, Callum Chen, President of Malaysian Consortium of Mid-Tier Companies (MCMTC) explained that the implications of a full lockdown would be devastating to the country, and would bring Malaysia to the edge of collapsing into itself.

In an exclusive interview with Malay Mail, Chen — who is also Chairman and CEO of LH Plus, Malaysia’s second-oldest plastics manufacturing company said a fine balance between finding economic stability and preventing the spread of Covid-19 among Malaysians is a move the country must make.

"Malaysia is a relatively small country, and we rely heavily on exports. When you look at the whole thing, Malaysia is a very important part of the global supply chain.

"Take semiconductor chips for example. Last year, Malaysia exported about RM387 billion worth of semiconductor chips, we are one of the big players. But now, there is a big shortage of semiconductor chips around the world because of lockdowns.

"And because of that, many larger multinational companies (MNC) like car and electronics manufacturers will also struggle, which may lead to them looking for business opportunities elsewhere,” he said.

Chen shared that mid-tier companies like his only take up 16 per cent of the total workforce in the country, but contribute to 39.9 per cent of the overall gross domestic product (GDP) in Malaysia, adding that the closure of the economic sector would have a domino effect on all levels of the economy.

"MNC’s rely on mid-tier companies, just like how mid-tier companies rely on small to medium enterprises (SME). When you shut down the economy, the hardest hit would be the SMEs, and when they close shop, the mid-tier companies start to struggle, leading to large global companies who rely on these mid-tier setups to continue conducting business.

"It affects all levels of the economy. Imagine you are a boss here, but you report to your big boss in Europe or America. When you’re already very short and don’t have the supply for two weeks, what will happen?

"Everyone would be screaming, and they’ll walk out the door and just replace you with someone else who can get the job done, or worse — take the business to other countries like Vietnam or Cambodia — causing Malaysia to lose a lot of money,” he said.

He said should the economic sector be shut down, the ramifications would be very dire, causing a huge spike in unemployment as companies take their businesses to other countries, leaving Malaysians worse off than ever. 

Chen also shared that the company also conducted mass screenings on their own initiative as an added measure to ensure Covid-19 does not spread among his workers.

He encouraged other companies to do the same to ensure the longevity of the Malaysian economy.

He added that he has engaged a company that has been approved by the Health Ministry to conduct the deep throat saliva test among his employees at a lower price, adding that members of MCMTC would also be eligible for this to ensure mass screenings are done at places of work.

"I told that company, you work with us and prove that it is okay and after that, I will recommend you to all members of MCMTC. My condition is that all the mid-tier companies must receive the same price to conduct this test, which is RM150 for eight tests over a period of four weeks.

"This by itself will encourage everyone to do more mass screening because it is not cheap, but everyone must be accounted for, to keep the economy going for the sake of the country’s well-being,” he said.

Chen added that even his part-time workers were screened, saying that nobody should be left out and every precaution should be taken to ensure the economy goes on.

"Some bosses would say part-time workers don’t need to do screenings, I said no. We need to be fair to everyone. Certain monies should not be saved because imagine, if one part-time worker who has Covid-19 comes and mingles among my full-time workers, that would be catastrophic.

"So everyone should be tested and we tell them that we are not going to charge them anything, the company will bear the cost. At the end of the day, what is important is that we want to ensure that everyone working in any company is safe.

"And as a CEO, it is my responsibility to provide a safe and conducive environment for everyone to work in,” he said.

He then praised Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for listening to the advice given by trade association such as themselves, the Chamber of Commerce, Eurocham and Amcham to keep the economy open amid calls for a full lockdown, even from other ministries in the country.

"The prime minister listened to our advice and understood the importance of keeping the economy open. We shared all our opinions and views and explained the ratification of what a full lockdown would do to the country in the long run.

"Miti has also been a tremendous help. They’ve been working 24 hours a day in three shifts to ensure the best possible option is available for the country’s survival through this pandemic,” he said.