No one could have predicted the economic impacts of Covid-19 which have surpassed those of any other previous economic crises. While past crises recorded tended to impact only affected sectors or countries, Covid-19 is a communicable disease that spreads quickly across countries, and the associated economic costs are the consequences of needed containment measures for the pandemic — restricting travel, shuttering non-essential businesses, implementing universal social distancing policies, etc — which have halted a majority of business activities and caused a worldwide standstill.
When the virus outbreak just started and the movement control order (MCO) was first implemented in March 2020, many thought that the Malaysian economy would rebound in the second half of the year. But this hope faded along with the second and third waves of the outbreak.
Judging from the current development, where the mutations of the virus are still an ongoing threat, there will likely be no real recovery unless the virus is thoroughly eradicated.
So, here is the perception of the Malaysian economy in the next one or two years — it is moving towards the bottom with some industries grinding to a halt and registering negative growth, but it will not totally collapse due to the rapid government intervention to protect jobs and businesses.
