WE are unexpectedly in the midst of another surge in Covid-19 infections.

The socio-economic sacrifice by all Malaysians during the movement-control order (MCO) and the ongoing recovery movement-control order (RMCO) coupled with the present curtailment of restrictions, are being undone by some irresponsible segments of society.

Presently, the active source of this pandemic’s general resurgence has its roots in the Sabah state elections resulting in daily new-case numbers that were not seen before.

The hunger for political power by certain parties have let us all down as the authorities struggle to get a renewed grip on the pandemic.

The relevant enforcement agencies must take a major part of the blame for not taking swift action or delaying on enforcing standard operating procedure (SOP) in social distancing, mask weraing and quarantine to all parties, regardless of who they may be.

There is a serious imbalance in the way enforcement is being carried out now. One of its main reasons is due to the fact that politicians are calling the shots on the mode and manner enforcement is being carried out.

The executive should not head enforcement task forces as they are neither trained nor have the relevant powers to do so, apart from the fact that they have a political base that they aim to please!

You cannot have different SOP for the elite and another for the ordinary man on the street. Obviously political gatherings, rallies and campaigns have triggered a bigger effect on the way this virus has spread.

The authorities should have come down hard on all this segment of society. Simply picking targets of possible areas where the virus can spread is insufficient to stem the problem, especially when statistics of the Covid-19 clusters are not made transparent.

A bigger problem is when there is hardly a link – or little – between this targeted segment and the Covid-19 clusters detected!

Professional enforcement in tandem with clear statistics of those infected that complement with the clusters prevalent, must become the order of the day.

Number of cases, location, time, knowledge in the science of the problem must go hand in glove with the mode, manner and frequency of enforcement. This will ensure that we are targeting the right group of people with the highest potential to spread the virus.

We must get our finger on the pulse of the problem without playing to the gallery. It must strictly hinge on science and statistics.

It is imperative that the police helm the task force in the war against this virus without much involvement and interference from the executive.

Immediate responses from the public or media during press conferences can then be relayed directly to the ground thus getting society on board in the overall war against this pandemic.

This can be difficult as the fusion of powers between the executive and civil servants have become too compact in recent times.

The SOP on Covid-19 quarantine measures cannot be compromised at all if we are to survive, manage and weather this pandemic in the days ahead. – October 4, 2020.

* G. Selva reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.