Four reasons for Malaysia finishing at bottom of recovery index

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: Lockdowns, lack of mass testing, poor compliance with rules, and the slow rate of vaccinations are viewed by economists as the cause of Malaysia being ranked last among countries making a recovery to normal life.

Constant politicking and the lack of coordination have also thrown the government off track in the battle against Covid-19, according to economist Firdausi Suffian of Sabah UiTM.

The ranking was published last week by the Economist weekly. Malaysia finished at the bottom of a list of 50 countries ranked by their progress towards a return to normal life.

The Economist “normalcy index” measured the level of activities in travel, leisure time and commercial activity.

Firdausi and Juita Mohamad of think tank Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Isis) agreed that lockdowns had been detrimental to the country’s economy and affected the livelihood of the people.


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