KUALA LUMPUR: The spread of coronavirus or better known as 2019-nCoV does not affect the current economic outlook for Malaysia, said Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
He said Health Ministry and related agencies were working closely to monitor the disease and the government had taken proactive steps to address it.
“We will not take this lightly, and if further action is needed, the government will work with the relevant agencies and ministries to address this issue.
“If this continues, it would certainly affect the country's economy. But I do not want to speculate as this is a serious matter.
"This should be monitored by the relevant agencies and ministries and we will take information and advice from them on the next steps to take,” Azmin told reporters after the signing ceremony of a strategic collaboration between Petronas and Agrobank on microfinancing for B40 (bottom 40 per cent income group) agropreneurs today.
Commenting on the economic situation, Azmin said recent statistics showed that Malaysia's economic fundamentals and investors' confidence remained strong.
“Our share market is relatively weak compared to regional countries, but our fundamentals are still strong.
"What we have done in the past one year is to restore investor confidence in Malaysia and use it as a gateway to penetrate the Asian markets,” he added.
Meanwhile, Agriculture and Agro-based Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub said the ministry has taken proactive steps to ensure the safety of food imported into Malaysia.
"From what we know, the virus could be spread through direct contact with infected patients.
"While there were no reports on the spread of the virus through food (consumption) like meat, we are taking measures to conduct random checks on agriculture produce imported from China at our entry points.
"As a matter of fact, we don't have any food imported directly from Wuhan (centre of the outbreak).
"Nevertheless, the ministry would continue to monitor developments related to the virus," he told reporters when met, adding that the import of food and agro-based products from China into Malaysia had not been impacted.
As of Monday, more than 2,800 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been confirmed in China and more than 80 people have died.
The virus is becoming a global threat as infection have been identified in several countries, including Malaysia with four reported cases so far.
Chinese authorities are working tirelessly to contain the spread of the virus by imposing lockdown on its cities and severe travel restrictions.