Make it clear emergency won’t be extended, Putrajaya told

Make it clear emergency won’t be extended. Two analysts see it as necessary for the government to declare that it will not seek to extend the emergency when it expires on Aug 1.

Former professor of politics Mustafa Ishak and political economist Firdausi Suffian said it was important for Putrajaya to send the right signals to the public, policy makers and the markets by stating that it respected the Malay rulers’ view that the extension is not necessary and it would act accordingly.

Before the rulers issued their statement on Wednesday, law minister Takiyuddin Hassan had been quoted as saying the Cabinet and the independent special committee on emergency would advise the King on the future of the emergency.

Mustafa said the King and the Malay rulers had made their stand clear and the government should now give its commitment to ensuring the restoration of democracy and the rule of law after Aug 1.

He also said he believed the views of the royals were well received by the public.

“Those who do not take their views seriously risk losing the support of the people,” he told FMT.

Firdausi said an affirmation that the emergency would end on Aug 1 would go a long way towards rebuilding investor confidence and the economy.

“When you have a state of emergency, it creates uncertainty because things can change at any time,” he said. “When there is uncertainty, people do not spend.

“Investors, domestic and foreign alike, would rather take their money to other countries where there is stability and predictability.”

He said hopes of a strong economic rebound were dim as long as the emergency was in place, and it would have been different if the emergency had been effective in managing the Covid-19 crisis.

“But that’s not happening. Cases have gone up, the virus has continued spreading and the healthcare system is still handling a lot of patients, particularly in the intensive care units.

“The quicker it becomes certain that the emergency won’t be extended, the faster the economy can get back on track.”