100 Malaysians dead in 3 days – it’s a Covid-19 war!

 

From Dr Venugopal Balchand

This article is purely to provoke thought and promote ”situational awareness”, a military lingo for preparing for the unknown. I solemnly dedicate this piece to the 100 Malaysians who laid down their lives between May 12 and 14, 2021 as they gallantly fought an invisible, unseen enemy – Covid-19.

And of course to the other 1,722 Malaysians (until May 14) who have died since the Covid-19 pandemic began more than a year ago.

Dead people don’t lie. From their heroic battles may we lesser mortals learn important lessons and act on them with urgency, fervour and precision so that these slain Covid-19 warriors may rest in peace knowing that eventually, we WILL win this war.

From September 1986 to August 1988, I served as the regimental medical officer of the 19th Royal Malay Regiment. So, yes, I do know a thing or two about warfare, both the guerrilla and the conventional kind, at least in theory.

Make no mistake. Malaysia is now waging a war. A war with a cunning, technologically advanced enemy who has only utter disdain and disregard for age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, socio-economic status or political affiliation. This enemy is programmed to destroy. And what a track record.

As of the evening of May 14, 462,190 Malaysians attacked, 41,471 still walking wounded, a total of 1,822 killed, a hundred of them in just three days.

From 1968 to 1989, the Malaysian security forces were engaged in armed conflict with the communists.

In 21 years and 6 months of the counter insurgency, Malaysia lost 155 soldiers. A total of 854 were wounded. To put things in perspective, even at the height of the conflict, we never ever lost 100 Malaysians in three days. And what’s 854 wounded compared to 4,000 to 5,000 new Covid-19 cases in a single day?

I distinctly remember a story narrated by my commanding officer when we were discussing strategy at the base camp in Gerik while on duty.

According to him, an attack on one of the Malaysian army camps took place during the insurgency, with lots of gunfire at the periphery of the camp. A platoon of 17 soldiers were sent immediately to investigate.

Over the next one hour, the enemy gunfire seemed to be receding, going farther and farther away from the advancing platoon. Our soldiers became complacent and did not pay attention to subtle details.

A sense of overconfidence and maybe even arrogance came over them. And then, suddenly, they realised their awful mistake. They were surrounded! The sound of retreating gunfire was pure strategy. The entire platoon was decimated. Like lambs to the slaughter.

Does the story ring a bell? Unsuspecting Malaysians, thinking they have forced the enemy to retreat, were only to be ambushed, again and again and again.

There is a reason why we have the army, navy and air force. The right people with the right training to handle the right equipment to execute the right strategy. No armoured personnel carrier (APC) driver can suddenly pilot a MiG fighter aircraft just because he is a member of the armed forces.

This pandemic is best understood by the infectious diseases physicians, the virologists, the epidemiologists and the researchers. The collateral damage is probably best assessed by the statisticians, actuaries and the economists.

The pain and suffering of the man on the street is best felt by the people on the ground, NGOs, social scientists and activists. The sheer agony of going through the illness is experienced only by the nurses and doctors tending to the sick.

We need multiple platoons of these crack commandos stationed at strategic points in the country. But, most importantly, we need one general. Someone whose credentials and love for this country is beyond question. Someone who can bark the orders so firmly and so loudly that everyone else stands to attention.

When the sirens of war start blaring, all that the civilian population has to do is follow orders. Just shut up, switch off the lights and retreat to the bunkers. War is not the time for individual liberties. Not the time for grandiose discussions or meetings after meetings.

We need action. Now. And in return, for obedience and discipline, it is incumbent upon the top brass to provide for the basic needs of the population. Rations, first aid, survival kits and, most importantly confidence, belief and pride that this war is being fought with integrity, intelligence and intent to destroy the enemy.

In the only conventional war that Malaya participated in, from 1939 to 1945, 60,000 of our people perished. From a then population of four million. In that war, we could see our enemy. We knew their strengths and weaknesses.

Not in this war though. A tiny viral particle rampaging through humanity, teasing us with mutations and making us beg for mercy as each variant becomes more lethal than the previous one. Is there a magic bullet? A nuclear weapon? There is only one. Vaccination!

Our vaccination programme started on Feb 24, 2021. In close to 12 weeks, we have only fully vaccinated around 750,000 people. A paltry 3% of the population. This is like giving ammunition to only 3% of our military and asking the rest of the soldiers to fight with sticks and rubber bands.

Surely we can do better. Let us now focus all our energy and resources on providing Malaysians with better ammunition. Let me close with some typical military terms. These are accepted military phrases, used widely and so I do not apologise for the coarse but highly effective language.

We have “screwed the pooch” but it is time to put “balls to the wall”. We may be stuck “in the trenches” in “no man’s land” for some time to come.

Let us put more “boots on the ground” “on the double”! “On the frontlines”, we need to “bite the bullet”, shout “Geronimo” and get on with our “nuclear option”.

As a veteran, I only pray that somebody, anybody, shouts “Roger that!” - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.