AFTER much noise and despite earlier promises, a third and in many ways a far stricter movement-control order (MCO) is now in effect in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and most major towns in Peninsular Malaysia.

Many Malaysians have cast shade on the latest effort to bring down Covid-19 numbers. Arguably chief among these complaints is the little sense it seems to make. 

Malaysians resentful of perceived double standards in the enforcement of health rules find the ban on dining out puzzling. At the time of its announcement, only 17.5% of infections are from the “community”, and schools and workplaces were not yet closed.

Even when schools were ordered to close two days later, workplaces remained open even through they accounted for the bulk of infections. Nor has the government reinstated the mandatory work from home order. 

No one doubts the government’s intention is to balance economic needs with stemming the pandemic’s spread, but with lockdown fatigue setting in, new, more dangerous strains of Covid-19 reaching our shores, exponentially rising cases, and a volatile economy, we simply cannot afford to get it wrong. 

Take for instance, the hotspot identification for dynamic engagement (HIDE) announcement on May 4, which was meant to be an advisory to prevent crowds in select locations.

Presumably calculated using number of visitors, perhaps contrasted against total floor space and proximity to a Covid-19 known outbreak, it was initially described as a means to dissuade people from visiting a high-risk area, much like the Covid-19 Hotspot feature in the MySejahtera app.

This suddenly changed to an automatic three-day lockdown with the announcement of security minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, which makes little sense. If you are going to close a place anyway, why bother with the fancy analytics? Just do it by zone.

Inconvenience and unfairness aside, the move does not seem to be based in solid data or logic – if those areas are going to be crowded in the next seven days, managing it would be the smarter thing to do, or the complicated data analytics behind it, pretty much goes to waste. 

Furthermore, many of the locations listed are places people shop for groceries, closing them arbitrarily will only go against reassurances of accessibility to essentials and food. Closing these locations directly affects the economic ecosystems, disrupts logistics flow and promotes food wastage, such as stocks in shopping centres.

Worse, it will cause new bottlenecks in surrounding malls and possibly a new “cycle” of HIDE closures, as shoppers play hide and seek with the authorities.  

Similarly, traffic stops and blocks, especially those within Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. With the number of roads and people who need to travel for work, it does not make sense to block these routes, especially in the mornings.

That effort should be redirected to patrolling HIDE or high potential areas, inter-state routes (especially in areas affected by the newer strains) and workplaces and construction sites to ensure SOP compliance.

The random cautionary tale of traders getting fined, or continued emphasis on entertainment outlets, which yielded one major cluster in Perak since, should be re-focused on efforts tailored to bring down numbers quickly, rather than serve as mere PR exercises or political window dressing. 

Quoting the Indian example, the government’s efforts now is to realign medical resources, speed up vaccination and strictly enforce curfews and public bans, areas in which we are still lagging behind in.

Flip flops from the government’s various ministries and agencies not only make implementation difficult and tiresome, it creates unnecessary panic, costs productivity and money, and hastens the already terrible pandemic fatigue.

It is almost like the government did not learn much in its one year of handling the crisis, nor take advantage of the period of stability and low numbers this time last year. 

The upcoming Raya weekend only makes implementing the steps harder, with shopping in full swing and obstinate travellers intending to make it home for the holidays.  

Strict SOPs with some breathing space, implemented compassionately and with precision, taking note of what the actual data and global experience are telling us, are the only way to unravel the knot we are in.

Experimenting and U-turns at this point will cost us lives, and common sense and competence needs to take over, even if this means some ministers taking a back seat, and cooperating with your political foes, if they make more sense. 

Wishing all TMI readers Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin!

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.