COMMENT | The Malaysian government reopens “almost all” sectors of the economy today. It’s probably the first country in the world to do this. Other, and bigger, economies are still grappling with the issue. What’s the difference?

Caution versus desperation. Plus other motives.

It’s one thing to attempt to reboot a relatively small economy that’s heading deeper into recession. But it’s not another thing to relax the movement control order (MCO) so the economy can regrow. Because the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

The really pressing question here is whether restarting the economy is being done at the cost of human life. In other words, is regenerating national income and business profitability being prioritised above the public health and safety?

The cabinet is behaving as if it has eradicated the killer coronavirus. The facts point the other way. Until last Saturday Covid-19 infections were still being recorded in double-digits, in the sixties.

On Sunday it jumped to triple-digits, with 122 new cases. Fifty-two of these were imported transmissions, 70 local. Mortality rate is at 1.66 percent at 105 deaths. The Muhyiddin Yassin regime is treating these statistics as if it has won...