Shock and stigma as Sendayan cluster shakes quiet town

CORONAVIRUS | Al-Arqam, an Islamic religious sect, came under the spotlight in the 1990s after the then government declared it deviant and arrested its leaders, including founder Ashaari Mohammad, under the now-defunct Internal Security Act.

In late 2012, more than a hundred of supporters led by Ashaari's younger brother Hashim Muhammad set up a breakaway group, where they formed a close-knit community dubbed "Albab Family Trading" (AFT) in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan.

They have generally kept a low-profile but in recent weeks, suddenly found themselves once again under the national spotlight after a new Covid-19 cluster spread in the group.

Miqdam Bakhtiar, a member of that close-knit community, said none of them knew where the infection originated from.

The group of 60 families and 300 members have built up a chain of grocery stores, restaurants, clinics and became a household name in Sendayan.

Miqdam, who manages Qathrunnada, a nasyid band under the group, said it was only after one of their leaders passed away did they realise that the virus had infiltrated the close-knit community.

(Note: Malaysiakini is withholding the victim's name out of respect for his family's privacy)

"He had been suffering from diabetes and hypertension for quite a while. Besides these, he also had heart complications.

"So, we thought he was just not well as he had been like that for some time. And when he is okay, sometimes he would go out to visit AFT tahfiz students and join them for prayers.

"Otherwise, he would spend most of his time resting at home, especially during the movement control order (MCO)," said Miqdam.

The Sendayan cluster

The 54-year-old victim was taken to the Seremban hospital only after his condition deteriorated on April 11. He succumbed to the virus after a few hours, passing away at 1.50am the following day.

"We are also puzzled where he could have picked up the virus from," Miqdam said.

Miqdam said the leader had no involvement in Tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur that took place in late February and has become the country's Covid-19 epicentre.

After the leader's death, the Health Ministry immediately swung into action and began tracing his close contacts.

They found 39 people within the leader's circle had been infected.

They include 11 of the deceased's family members and 15 AFT tahfiz students, according to Miqdam.

Seremban had since been declared as a red zone following this.

Following the sudden spike, health authorities set up a base at the Sheikh Haji Ahmad Mosque to test all of the group's members for the virus over two days until April 17.

As of noon Monday (April 21), a total of 77 positive cases were recorded in Sendayan. Sources said all 77 were linked to the group and are undergoing treatment.

Outbreak shook and woke up local community

Arriz Tassri Abu Bakar, the mosque's committee member, said the incident had sent chills down the local community's spine as many had taken things for granted and never took face masks seriously.

"It really shocked all of us. From zero, the number of cases suddenly shot up to over 30 in one day. It frightened the people, especially when fake news started being circulated about the infection.

"This area, although it's a town, but the way of life is like in a kampung. Many never bothered to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. And so was the case with face masks.

"But when the area became a red zone, things immediately changed," he said.

Store helper Muhammad Najmi Omar, 22, who works at a mart near AFT premises echoed this.

"Before the MCO, the area was bustling with many people coming here to shop. But since it was implemented, the number has declined. And now, with the positive cases detected, even fewer.

"We have also started to check every customer's body temperature and asked them to use hand sanitiser.

"Before this many of the people here also did not wear face masks, but now, alhamdulillah, almost all who came had started wearing one," he said.

Another Sendayan resident Mohd Azmi Ibrahim, who works as a technician, is worried that the area might be put under an enhanced MCO, adding that he was not alone.

"I don't think I am ready to be placed under enhanced MCO. I still have to go to work every day," he said.

"I hope that everybody will follow the order to stay at home and break the chain of infection," said the man who works at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Coping with stigma

Asked about AFT, Azmi said the group is well known by the people there, and they had also conducted activities for the community.

Meanwhile, Arriz Tassri also voiced his concern over the impact of the incident to AFT.

According to him, some in their community had started to have a stigma against the group following the outbreak.

"There has started to be some stigma against AFT now. This is worrying for us as the group is a part of us. They have never caused any problem before," he said.

A similar sentiment was shared by the chairperson of Taman Nusari Bayu 1's residents' association Mohamad Zin Mustapa, who said that AFT had been a part of the community family.

"The group has been here for quite some time, and we have been close like a family. So when their leader died, we felt the sorrow like losing one of our own," he said.

However, Mohamad Zin believes the people are not turning on AFT because of the virus. - Mkini