SINCE the first Covid-19 case was detected in Malaysia on January 25, 2020, just like other countries, we find ourselves completely vulnerable to its spread. At the first sign of the initial wave of local community transmission, the Malaysian government quickly emulated Wuhan’s all-or-nothing approach to contain the virus, and implemented the most stringent form of MCO on March 18, 2020.

Based on previous experience of pandemic control in human history, imposing such a drastic measure at an early stage of the pandemic makes logical sense. After all, a mortality rate as high as 5.7% recorded in Wuhan, China, in early March 2020 is catastrophic.

However, this by no means implies that issues raised by such measures are less harmful, and yet they tend to be ignored by the government and the public alike.

As of February 5, 2021, one year after the first case, Malaysia has reported 234,874 cases of Covid-19 and a cumulative mortality rate of around 0.36%. As of yesterday, there are 292 Covid-19 patients requiring intensive medical care, out of which 140 rely on ventilators to survive.

In comparison, the mortality rate of Covid-19 worldwide to date is around 2.19%. Given that the relatively low mortality rate and low number of ICU patients in Malaysia, alongside with the Health Ministry’s latest guidelines that asymptomatic patients who meet the criteria of home-quarantine should stay at home, and those cannot would be arranged to stay in a quarantine centre, it becomes harder to justify the application of strict MCO 2.0 without good risk communication, relevant information disclosure, coherent policies and socio-economic mitigation strategies.

Political interference would make things worse and counterproductive in the pandemic combat.

The positively confirmed cases comprise a broad spectrum of people including citizens, migrant workers, foreign spouses and family members, as well as travellers.

Due to lack of regulations and law enforcement, too many migrant workers have been placed by their indifferent employers in living spaces that are so congested and in utterly poor condition such that it borders on the uninhabitable to anyone by any standard under any situation.

Such living spaces will only serve as horrifying incubators or hotbeds for the infectious pathogen, and the affected migrant workers have little chance to avoid the menace but rapidly become dispensable victims with nowhere to run. 

Unfortunately, the government does not penalise the employers who violated the laws, especially those who are still receiving windfall revenue during the pandemic. Instead, the employers are directed to enforce mandatory pre-work Covid-19 swab tests for the migrant workers.

Given that more than 80% of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia are asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, it should also be the case for migrant workers, if not better due to their relatively younger demographics.

In a given stage of the pandemic, the ratio of positive cases per number of tests at a certain range could indicate the severity of the disease spread, which we should have concerns about as more asymptomatic migrant cases are detected.

The more the Health Ministry emphasises on reporting the positive cases in distinguished categorises of citizen and non-citizens, the more it may add fuel to the public discriminatory sentiments against the migrant workers in an already xenophobic society to a greater extent.

For the past 11 months, Malaysia’s borders have been almost completely closed and we practise mandatory quarantine for those travelling from overseas, and yet most Covid-19 cases are local transmission. Thus, the categorisation of the local cases into citizens and non-citizens will serve no purpose in controlling the virus spread.

The ministry never admits or apologises for its insensitivity, caving into the popular xenophobic demand.

We can understand the basic requirement for the ministry reporting the daily new cases, mortality rate, etc., but we are curious why they do not communicate more to the public using a year-long worth of timeline data and facts of the pandemic?

Surely relying on daily conferences by the Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah would not be effective. In fact, the public have the right to know more about the pandemic, particularly the infectious and ICU trends, regular updates of detailed analysis such as infection biological impact according to patient age group and health history, the latest findings about the mechanism of the disease transmission, etc., so that the public can also make their own independent deduction and subsequently make their best decision after understanding the risks for themselves, rather than being info-fed by the authorities all the time.

Secondly, why does the ministry habitually repeat in its daily press statement the slogan “Kita Jaga Kita, Kita Tegur Kita Menang” at the end of the statement? I wish they did not exploit the slogan to appeal to the public’s sentiments to enforce social-polarising mandatory measures.

Standard operating procedure (SOP), the term popularised by the pandemic, fail from a practicality perspective. It is troubling when double-standards are practised, particularly when mosques admit prayers to half of its capacity during Friday prayers (in one case, a mosque in Seremban accommodated roughly 900 attendees!), but at the same time disallowed religious/cultural activities during Chinese New Year.

The SOP also allow night bazaars to operate but disallow social visits among families and friends, etc. Does that mean that we cannot keep a better social distance during social visits compared to the potentially crowded nature of a night bazaar?

I understand the reason for night bazaars resuming business, which is to look after those merchants who are already struggling with financial and mental stresses; in fact, I support the decision.

My contention is that the SOP on religious activities must be also consistent, as the virus does not discriminate according to creed. It would be great if the government could study, reflect, and garner more feedback on the design of the SOP. Sadly, the government is even reluctant to address the issue of applying double-standards when enforcing the SOP.

Home is a safe bay for many people, but not for all. During the MCO, Malacca had reported an increased number of domestic sexual abuse and/or incest cases by 100% compared to previous years. The mental stresses inflicted by loss of income had triggered many domestic issues, ranging from quarrelling to physical abuse.

Even the middle- and upper-income families suffer mental stress due to various reasons, i.e. loss of human connection within social circles. Should we also not care for these victims while the authorities and the rest of society champion the cause of “stay at home, stay safe from virus”?

Nowadays, most of the small towns in Malaysia are inhabited by senior citizens whose children and grandchildren live and work in the city. MCO or any strict movement-control measures are sacrificing the old people’s well-being as they might feel lonely when they are distant from their loved ones.

On one hand, I understand the authorities’ concern with premature lifting of movement control, which could result in the pandemic escalating. Having said that, wouldn’t it be better if the authorities just advise the public to reduce the movement and social activities rather than impose strict mandatory policy that they perhaps could not fully enforce?

My parents experience anxieties and they call us almost every alternate day to talk about Chinese New Year with their grandson, and I believe there are many senior citizens who experience similar mental stress. Given their age, it’s likely that not every one of them would live to enjoy the luxury of celebrating another lunar new year the following year.

On the other hand, I fully support the government’s decision to allow interstate travel for married couples living apart, but I’m intrigued by its narrow view to disallow interstate family visits.

The half-thought policies reflect the immature consideration in policy formation partly due to lack of public engagement. The government should offer a better guideline for the public to assess their risk before travelling to ensure that whatever decision people make, it is a well-informed one. Those who understand the risk and practise safe SOP within their own rights, should not be morally judged by the public and the authorities.

All these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. To a greater extent, the Malaysian government is expanding its authoritarian power by using the pandemic as a convenient excuse, as most governments in the world do, regardless whether the regime is a tyrannical dictatorship or a well-established democracy.

The UN Commission on Human Rights had endorsed the Siracusa Principles in 1984, which clearly state that governments should be obliged to protect non-derogable rights i.e., impacts on affected persons, such as loss of financial incomes, personal freedom, privacy and liberties, civil and political rights without discrimination, etc.

More importantly, the Siracusa Principles emphasise that the mandatory measure should be used as a last resort in the event of voluntary measures failing to achieve targeted goals. Clearly most of the SOP during MCO had violated these principles, and yet the government has not discussed it openly.

The government should share all the relevant and necessary details regarding the rationale for the appropriate policies (according to the level of pandemic severity) with the public. With a literacy rate of 95%, Malaysians should have sufficient wisdom, knowledge, and rational sense to understand them. 

Thus, it is better for us to ask and debate the big questions, preparing our society better in dealing with the current Covid-19 and future worse pandemics, living up to the spirit of “No-One-Left-Behind”.

If we can create a society with voluntary willingness to participate, with the full knowledge and awareness to comply and take ownership of the SOP, that is all what an advanced nation is about. To me, this amounts to achieving Wawasan 2020 in 2021. – February 8, 2021.

* Chong Kok Boon is a member of Agora Society. He is a self-declared Peter Pan who advocates science in forging a more democratic and humane society.

* Chong Kok Boon is a member of Agora Society. He is a self-declared Peter Pan who advocates science in forging a more democratic and humane society.

* 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.