Rafidah: Covid-19 is not Health Ministry's battle alone, whole gov't must mobilise now

This article of mine is not about politics or any such thing.

It is simply about getting our act together to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Firstly, congratulations to all the Health Ministry personnel, headed by the director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah, for the tireless efforts to stem the rise of the infections amongst the population.

But their efforts should not be allowed to be negated by the activities of some in society, who seem to be uncaring for the welfare of others and whose focus is off-tangent from what should be the national focus to overcome national problems.

Individuals and groups of individuals have separate and yet collective responsibilities and roles to assume, to combat the problems. 

All must be coherent in addressing the issues to achieve the best outcomes. Some of the examples are as follow:

1) Every ministry must address its particular target group(s), identifying areas where those segments of society can be guided to effectively overcome some of the problems.

For example, the Human Resources Ministry, as well ministries in charge of businesses, must introduce and facilitate flexible work systems, optimising the potential of ICT and digital platforms so that as many as possible of the country's workforce can work online from home.

2) Ministries covering youths and women must undertake effective communication with NGOs, voluntary organisations, and such civil society groupings to assist and reach out to their members on the sanctioned ways to address the Covid-19 issues. 

Social media should be utilised effectively to disseminate such useful information, not to have ministers and deputies use social media to espouse personal views and address irrelevant issues.

3) A national crisis taskforce must be set up inclusive of key medical, health sector personnel and private sector representatives to guide the nation moving forward in facing the challenges of the pandemic.

Time is of the essence. The new government must hit the ground sprinting as fast as possible.

In parallel, the national task force must begin to tally the costs to the nation's development drivers, mainly the private sector, as the result of the pandemic.

These economic costs must be calculated now and the necessary measures drawn up to revive, revitalise and assist them to recover.

Any policy measures to be taken must not be with political slants. It is for the sake of Malaysia and all Malaysians.

We need to always be reminded that the coronavirus does not discriminate along racial or religious lines.

The Almighty does not help us unless we seek ways first to help ourselves.

This is a matter of life and death. It is not about political musical chairs or for bureaucratic constraints to impede action.

Firm and effective decisions must be made, driven solely for the good of the public, not expedience or pressure of special interest groups, for example, allowing large religious gatherings that have now resulted in the spike in the numbers of infected people.

The public must be kept fully informed of all developments to prevent fake information to take root.

It is now time for the whole government to act.

Track Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia here.

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RAFIDAH AZIZ was the International Trade and Industry Minister from 1987 to 2008. - Mkini