Malaysia’s decision not to shut down its economy under the movement control order (MCO) 2.0 and MCO 3.0 could prevent various adverse effects, including unemployment reaching an estimated one million people, said Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

The finance minister said applying the lessons learned from the first Covid-19 wave, no country in the world fully closed its economy when dealing with the second and third waves of the pandemic.

“Instead, they only tightened the standard operating procedures and curbed social activities. This also happens...