Half of Malaysians disagree with CMCO

A third will not partake in ‘partial lockdown’ activities

Malaysia continues to battle the spread of COVID-19 through lockdown measures, now intended to last until 9 June 2020. As of 4 May 2020, the nation is now under ‘partial lockdown’ and governed by a new Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO). YouGov looks how Malaysians are coping on this extended lockdown, and what they think of the CMCO.

The majority (83%) of Malaysians are familiar with the CMCO – under two in five (28%) are very familiar, and over two in five (45%) are somewhat familiar. Over one in ten (12%) are somewhat unfamiliar with it, and one in twenty (5%) are very unfamiliar. Only 1% have not heard of the CMCO.

As whole, half (51%) of Malaysians do not agree with the new CMCO, where certain economic and social activities are now allowed to resume. Older Malaysians (aged 45 and above) are much more likely to disagree with the CMCO than younger Malaysians (aged 18 to 34). A third (32%) agree with the ‘partial lockdown’ measures and the remaining one in six (17%) are undecided.

However, in spite of a significant number of Malaysians disagreeing with the CMCO, the financial impact of the lockdown (Prime Minister Muhyddin Yassin announced that the country had been losing RM2.4b a day since lockdown began on 18 March 2020) has definitely affected how they feel about the new measures. The majority (90%) said that Malaysia’s economic state has played in part in their support / opposition for the CMCO. The remaining one in ten (10%) felt this had no influence or were undecided.

Of all the ‘partial lockdown’ activities Malaysians can now partake in, the most popular one is returning to work at the office, with two in five (29%) doing so. This is followed by visiting shopping malls and shops for reasons beyond shopping for essential items (28%), partaking in outdoor sporting activities (21%), and travelling interstate for work (15%). Only a small percentage (7%) will choose in dine-in restaurants. For a third (33%) of Malaysians however, life remains unchanged and will not partake in any of these new activities.

According to YouGov’s Global COVID-19 Tracker, Malaysians are now far more satisfied with governmental measures to curb the spread of the virus that it was before the MCO. Prior to the MCO (on 12 March 2020), half (49%) of Malaysians felt that the government was not doing enough. Today, less than one in ten (12%) think so.

***Results based on 1,109 Malaysians surveyed by YouGov Omnibus