COMMENT | Given the serious delay between the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) on Mar 18 and the tabling of the Covid-19 Relief Bill on Aug 12, one would have thought the government would have at least used the time craft a detailed, thoughtful bill.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. Malaysia's Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Bill 2020 was tabled in Parliament for the first reading almost five months after the MCO began.

In comparison, Singapore's Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 came into effect almost concurrently when their version of MCO took place in early April, and their version of the law was put together in a matter of days.

We will focus on the following two areas – contracts and rental relief...