More like new abnormal, Tok Mat says on ‘new normal’

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan.

PETALING JAYA: Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has urged Putrajaya to announce a holistic strategy and implementation plan for Malaysians to adapt and subsequently move on from the “new normal” caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Mohamad said the people had been advised to adapt to the “new normal” until a vaccine for the virus is found.

“For me, this is a ‘new abnormal’. We must not only adapt to this abnormality but hastily end it. We must return to our natural and normal way of life.

“It is impossible to picture a world where not being able to perform congregational prayers is a new normal. The inability to properly say goodbye and pay our last respects to our loved ones is abnormal and foreign.”

For Muslims, he said, not being able to perform tarawih prayers during Ramadan was an “alien concept”, and they would miss celebrating the period as a community.

He urged everyone to do their part in fighting the infection, saying the end of the pandemic begins with each individual.

“From now on, families and children need to be educated that without personal hygiene, there will be no end to this pandemic.

“In the absence of social distancing, this abnormality will rob us of our life and freedom. Schools are no longer able to function, businesses are paralysed, and unemployment will continue to rise.”

He praised the government’s move to allow several sectors to reopen at maximum capacity, calling it a step in the right direction.

Now, he said, it needed to announce a holistic strategy and implementation phases to educate and help people understand how they should adapt to this “abnormality” and how they could end it.

“Whether or not the movement control order (MCO) will be lifted in May, Malaysians must be well educated and understand the different facets of the recovery plan.

“Science has the answers to all of our strategic recovery questions. The latest and most advanced scientific findings must be the basis of our answers, not politics or other factors.”

He added that staying at home could not be the “new normal”, nor should the MCO be prolonged as it was counterproductive.

“Businesses, employments, and entrepreneurship must be saved. School and education must not be delayed any longer. Religious life, social activities, and community sustainability must return to our customs and culture.”

Mohamad said the only “mission” now was to defeat Covid-19 and end the “abnormal” phase with a balanced, solid, and formidable recovery strategy.

“Only through the success of this mission can we return to living our lives normally, following our norms, cultures, and traditions.” - FMT