Malaysians must adapt, adjust and accommodate the new normal

Alhamdulilah and thank you, to all on the frontlines and those behind the scenes who have played pivotal roles in flattening the curve.

My deepest gratitude to everyone in the Health Ministry (MOH), especially working as a team towards a common goal to control the spread of Covid-19 in our beloved nation.

We have been successful thus far in averting a national disaster as seen currently in many countries globally. But the war is not over yet, as next week will witness us fighting in a new battlefield with new strategies in place.

We can only win this war if all of us, all Malaysians, collectively come together as part of our social responsibility to embrace the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines set by the government. We must have social discipline and social compliance to the SOPs - embrace social distancing, take all the precautionary measures and maintain good personal hygiene.

Come May 4, many of you will be heading back to work. However, you must take this time to plan and do what is necessary to comply with your respective sector’s SOP and abide by the new norms in the workplace. The first week back should be used to strategise, plan and implement these new changes and not necessarily for you to fully resume the services.

Employers must ensure all employees adhere to safe distancing, especially in confined spaces. You may need to rearrange the office space to make it more spacious and safe, regularly sanitise common areas such as pantries or prayer rooms (surau) and only allow a limited number of people to congregate in a space at any one time to ensure safe social distancing.

The MOH’s guiding principles are clear and the onus is on the employers to implement them. This is our social responsibility and we need social discipline and social compliance to embrace and practice the SOPs.

We must adapt to these new norms. The world will not be the same anymore. We must all learn that every individual’s action has a ripple effect on how we manage Covid-19 in our community. We have to adapt, adjust and accommodate the new norms in our lives.

Let us help each other to make sure our loved ones especially those who are vulnerable are safe. Let us keep Malaysia safe. Let’s emerge victorious at the end of this war against an invisible enemy. If you have no reason to go out please, Stay safe and stay at home.

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DR NOOR HISHAM ABDULLAH is Health Ministry director-general. - Mkini