THE movement control order (MCO) has become easy for most Malaysians to deal with, as we have been under siege for the past 10 months since March last year.
Most Malaysians are sensitised to the fact that we must use face masks, wash and sanitise our hands, and are quite well behaved by queuing up at supermarkets or bus stops.
The announcement of an emergency sparked fear at first, but with its implementation, it now looks more like political propaganda than a social step.
As responsible citizens, it is expected of us to observe every standard operating procedure (SOP) in our battle against Covid-19. As of yesterday, 667 people have died.
China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that there could be more than five million deaths from Covid-19 this year, far worse than 2020.
Malaysia is under siege by the rising number of Covid-19 cases going beyond 4,000 cases a day. The third wave is very scary as frontliners at hospitals are struggling to meet with the rising numbers of patients.
The emergency, which was to contain the pandemic will also help in containing the movement of people (including members of the opposition) across states or any travel more than a 10km radius from their respective homes.
It is hoped that with this condition, restricted movement would somehow minimise the spread of the virus.
Covid-19 is a lesson for everyone. President Kaguta Museveni of Uganda summed it up well: “The world is currently in a state of war. A war without guns and bullets; a war without human soldiers; a war without borders; a war without cease-fire agreements; a war without a war room; a war without sacred zones. It is an invisible, fleet footed, and ruthlessly effective army.
“We can only defeat Covid-19 by collective action, discipline and forbearance. It cannot survive social and physical distancing. Let’s be more cautious in controlling the virus.”
The Health Ministry and the medical fraternity must be commended for their tireless effort and stamina in relentlessly attending to, treating, and curing Covid-19 patients in our country.
The political encumbrances have been ongoing since the 2018 election. The curse grew worse since February 24, 2020, after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation as prime minister.
The Sheraton Move brought Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in as the eighth prime minister on March 1, 2020. Since, then, there has been no easy passage for any politician or political leaders in our country.
There have been several meetings with our Agong and to date the political instability has yet to be resolved. If Covid-19 is a pandemic, our political circuit is going through a tsunami.
This political tsunami is sweeping the investors far away to Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and India. Currently with the pandemic, it has gotten worse.
Though our finance minister has been struggling to give assurances that we are gaining control, the truth is something else.
Our low cost of living, multicultural, multilingual, multiethnic composition, coupled with good education and excellent infrastructure is no more as attractive as Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, only because these countries are politically stable.
Looking at the unemployment rate which seems to have remained stagnant between 4.6% and 4.7% for the past few months, it is possible that the number of unemployed persons will continue to increase in 2021 if the government’s plan under Budget 2021, such as JanaKerja, MySTEP and the extension of the wage subsidy programme, failed to materialise in the beginning of 2021.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia registered a lower net inflow of RM2.2 billion as against RM6.4 billion in Q1 2020.
These are bleak signs, but we can shape and reshape our nation, if our political masters drop their ego, positions and power in the interest of our nation and our people.
The people are suffering. The effects of the pandemic have placed vulnerable Malaysians in a particularly precarious position.
“An enhanced social protection system and continued role-sharing between the government and civil society will help eradicate poverty, foster equity, and promote resilience within the economy,” states the World Bank economic report.
Sound advice for trying times. – The Vibes, January 24, 2021
Ravindran Raman Kutty is a communications and reputation management expert who has worked in multinational and government-linked companies, as well as government agencies
