Ex-health minister on understanding the spirit of CMCO

The prime minister surprised a lot of Malaysians with the announcement of widespread relaxation of the movement control order (MCO) from today.

Although there was a general expectation of some form of relaxation, it was the extent of the relaxation which caught many Malaysians by surprise.

As the announcement was part of his Labour Day message, one could wonder if it was meant to reassure workers that the government was committed to preserve their jobs by loosening up the economy.

As expected, the announcement has drawn mixed reactions from Malaysians with some questioning the wisdom of the sudden and widespread relaxation, just a week after extending the MCO for a further 2 weeks.

The Health director-general summed it up aptly when he said balancing life and livelihood was always a delicate task.

The government has been caught between the two forces – health and economy – for the past few weeks.

During the early stage of the pandemic, the government rightfully made many decisions to protect Malaysians from the perils of Covid-19 including widespread enforced restrictions of movement. These restrictions while having positive effects on controlling the pandemic has serious implications to the social and economic fabric of the nation.

As the lockdown measures displayed positive results and the number of cases tapered down, the government was faced with the daunting tasks of relaxing lockdowns and re-opening the economy.

Understandably, it is never an easy decision.

The DG is on record to have on many instances asserted that relaxations could be considered when the number of daily cases reaches single digits. However, the massive economic pressures which have been gradually building up over the last few weeks gave the government little choice but to reboot the economy.

In many ways, the government has partially transferred the responsibility of managing this pandemic to enterprises, organisations and individuals by empowering them to be responsible for tracking the subsequent course of Covid-19 infections in Malaysia.

As a result of the pervasiveness of social media, most Malaysians have enough knowledge of Covid-19 to motivate them to behave responsibly.

Businesses which have been given the permission to commence operations should understand that this opportunity comes with a degree of responsibility and accountability.

I am told that detailed discussions had been conducted with each economic sector and standard operating procedures (SOP) have been outlined for each of them. It is up to each area of business to implement these given SOPs fully and effectively.

Businesses which are not able to comply with the required SOPs should not restart their business.

Most of us understand that attaining a target of zero cases and maintaining it at that level might be wishful thinking. It will be more realistic for us to recognise that Covid-19 is here to stay with us and how we can live in that new reality in a responsible and healthy manner.

Countries where the citizens and businesses were empowered and have shown a great sense of responsibility have done much better than nations where individualism and the right of the individuals overruled collective responsibility.

This relaxation has imposed a greater responsibility on MOH to carry out very aggressive and extensive case detection, more widespread contact tracing and to carry out effective quarantines whenever it is needed.

Such quarantines might include the imposition of localised MCOs where and when necessary.

As Malaysians, we need to educate ourselves on the earliest signs and symptoms of this disease and seek medical attention without any procrastination.

It is heartening to note that only 30% of healthcare facilities have been utilised so far and that we indeed have 70% free capacity to manage any new surges in the number of cases.

That should give Malaysians a sense of confidence. Experience from the last few weeks have shown, that the incidents of Covid-19 among those who are coming from overseas is still high, underlying the need for effective and strong border control.

The spirit of this relaxation is not so much to give complete freedom of movement, but to provide an avenue for people to earn an income and meet daily needs.

It is not a re-opening of the life which we had before with unrestricted socialisation.

Understandably, humans are social creatures where interaction with one another has always been important to our lives. This is where we should have a shift towards a new lifestyle. We would have to lead our lives while adapting, adjusting and accommodating by adhering to the advice and guidelines given by health authorities both locally and abroad.

Wearing masks, avoiding shaking hands, social distancing, practicing proper handwash techniques and staying at home whenever possible will have to be a part of the new norm.

Ultimately, our fate in this new reality is determined by us, the individuals.

The virus is still out in the community and the risks of having another wave of infection is undeniable and we would have to be always vigilant despite this relaxation.

The maxim, “Stay Home, Stay Safe”, still remains, albeit with some relaxations where necessary.

Dr S Subramaniam was health minister from 2013 to 2018. - FMT