YOURSAY | MCO 2.0 not working, new strategy is needed

 

YOURSAY | ‘We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.’

MCO 2.0 extended with stricter measures

Vote4changejohor: The movement control order (MCO) from Jan 13 to Feb 4 is obviously not working. It is a failure and hence, an extension of the MCO is needed.

Towards the end of the third week of the lockdown, the number of cases rises to more than 5,000 for three days with a new record of 5,728 registered on Jan 31.

The obvious question and concern on many citizens’ mind are: If the lockdown in the past three weeks has failed to control the pandemic and not delivering the expected result, how is the lockdown in the next two weeks going to help?

The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government must go to the ground and find out why MCO 2.0 has failed.

Is there a need for a paradigm shift or new approach in how further/future MCO should be implemented? Is there a need for better coordination among the various ministries involved in fighting the pandemic?

The escalating number of new infections over the last one week despite the MCO showed obvious defects in the current method used to reduce the pandemic.

The authority should be more receptive/responsive to new ideas/input and contribution from the experts and the community in this war against the pandemic.

Johanian2: I agree. The government must first understand that in order to get good compliance, the rakyat have to believe that the leaders are making the right decisions.

Leaders must gain respect by being always in the know, not being vague in their responses, and be crystal clear in answering questions. All of which they are failing at the moment.

Leaders should not keep blaming the rakyat of being uncooperative. Look at your own behaviour first.

NC: I’m sorry but extending the MCO is not a wholistic approach. The best that the senior minister (Ismail Sabri Yaakob) can think is limiting supermarket patrons?

My suggestions:

1. A blanket shutdown of all construction and factories in the Klang Valley for two weeks.

2. A blanket shutdown of all malls in the Klang Valley because tenants will face penalties if they close down on their own.

3. Essential means real essential services - fabric shops and jewellery shops are not essential services.

4. If 30 percent workforce is allowed, then stick to it, but unfortunately, many premises are operating at 100 percent capacity.

5. No more excuses for politicians - if they flout the standard operating procedure (SOP), triple penalty for them plus immediate termination from government services - strip them off their ministerial or GLC (government-linked company) post.

6. Place a target. For example, if we failed to achieve certain set KPI, then impose an automatic MCO extension with stricter SOP or full lockdown.

Fair Comments: Growing up, I have always been told that Malaysia is one of the luckiest and wealthiest countries, blessed with plenty of natural resources and its wealth is shared among a relatively small population of 32 million.

But since the advent of the current pandemic, I am shocked to find out that Malaysia is not rich after all.

Wuhan, China was in a complete lockdown for more than two months and the virus practically disappeared. So, there is no doubt that this is a proven and effective method to eliminate the virus.

However, Malaysia cannot even afford a total lockdown for two weeks, much less two months. The MCO 2.0 is hardly effective.

What has happened to our wealth? Norway discovered oil in the North Sea at about the same time as Petronas found oil.

From 1990, they regularly diverted a small part of their oil revenue to set up the Norwegian Sovereign Oil Fund which today is worth more than US$1.2 trillion – that’s about US$200,000 per Norwegian - and in 2020 the fund earned the equivalent of more than US$20,000 per Norwegian.

How I wish Petronas is as rich as them. Malaysia will then have no problem at all in completely locking down the country for two months to get rid of Covid-19. How sad to realise that this is only my wishful thinking.

Doc: In the last few days, many senior ministers and even the Health director-general indicated that continuing the MCO will have a major detrimental effect on the rakyat from the economic point of view.

In spite of that warning, the prime minister still wants to latch on to his beloved MCO. Till which point does our PM want to go on with extending the MCO? Till there is a sustained single-digit daily infection rate, I assume.

But once the MCO is lifted, people will go about trying to earn some income, thus, increasing the Covid-19 infection numbers again. And then what? Mr PM will impose another round of never-ending lockdowns.

Oct: This shows that the emergency is of no help and beneficial to the rakyat so far. Please terminate the emergency as the only purpose is to prevent Parliament from sitting. It has no correlation to the pandemic.

The emphasis is always that the rakyat are at fault and don't follow SOP. In fact, the reality is the YBs and the VVIPs are the culprits that go around ignoring SOP. No action is being taken against them.

If the VVIPs and the YBs cannot follow SOP, why should the rakyat make to suffer? There should be no two sets of SOP.

Pegasus: They keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. If they want to extend the MCO then make sure more stringent and effective measures are in place.

Keep extending MCO but still using the same useless and weak measures, for what? What is the point of extending it then? Please come up with a better plan.

Anonymous1273649237: The government is incompetent. It cannot help us. It’s now up to us, we have to ‘kita jaga kita’.

Observe the SOP. Stay safe, don’t be infected. Make sure that we survive, and when the time comes, kick this government out.  - Mkini