Tapau only: Under MCO 3.0, dining-in at retaurants and food courts are not allowed. — KK SHAM/The Star

IN the past week, I was invited to two government agency media dinners and meetings with two corporate figures who insisted on physical sessions.

It was just ridiculous. While I’m grateful for the thought, I had to politely decline the offers.

These meals and meetings were inconsequential. Nothing could change even if they were cancelled.

So, it was a relief when the movement control order encompassing the entire Kuala Lumpur, parts of Johor, Perak, Kedah and Terengganu was enforced from May 6 to 17.

Many of us would have preferred a much tougher measure, like the first MCO in March last year, to counter the raging Covid-19 pandemic.

The MCO 3.0 seems like a questionable measure, and it hasn’t helped assure Malaysians when our ministers make conflicting statements.

They’re at sixes and sevens, with just no coordination. What’s going on here? Come on!

By now, after a year, we would expect announcements to come with details and guidelines, but instead, we had to wait for the following day to learn how business activities would be affected.

The newsrooms of most media were flooded with enquiries from people wanting to know more.

Curiously, why should the MCO in states be made separately?

The MCO won’t get the red carpet from the business sector, particularly when it’s just finding its feet again from the last round. But this round for a clampdown is grossly overdue.

The uncontrolled crowds at some Ramadan bazaars – which were subsequently closed in many parts of KL, and elsewhere – were a recipe for disaster. The management of these bazaars certainly failed to do their jobs and must be held accountable.

The traders, including many from the low-income group and even those who lost their jobs, were only trying to make a decent living in these tough times.

But it doesn’t help that the crowds that thronged some of these crowded bazaars violated SOP, and the pictures, if they’re real, show plenty of potential for body contact.

Where were the Rela and City Hall officials meant to man the exit points?

The truth is, we have all let our guard down. As the government relaxed the rules, many of us returned to normalcy thinking the pandemic has been kept at bay.

Instead, the figures shot up, and even more disconcerting, our public hospitals have run out of beds for Covid-19 patients.

Until last week, at least, I find that many Malaysians are not taking the pandemic seriously despite the spike in the number of infections.

For whatever reason, we’re still insisting on unnecessary physical contact. I’m bewildered at all the whining because of a stricter lockdown.

When the number of positive cases shot up previously, some complained that they were inflated for “political reasons”.

With the jump this time around, some have, instead, questioned if these figures had been downplayed, and queried if the media has been ordered to tone down the issue.

But our patience is wearing thin. Our poor frontliners have been fatigued all this while because they’ve been working non-stop since last year. And still, the numbers are not coming down.

There have been so many different orders that we’ve lost count of the acronyms.

I had a close call recently. Some media friends had a buka puasa do with Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

I have traditionally hosted it, and those in the group have had such gatherings for years with Saifuddin, too, who has been involved in the moderation movement with other like-minded people.

Saifuddin was the chief executive officer of the Global Movement of Moderates in 2013 and I, a trustee of the government-formed foundation, have spent much time engaging with youth in promoting interracial and religious harmony.

Over nasi kandar, we asked Saifuddin why he had yet to be vaccinated like other ministers and Members of Parliament.

His reply was that he was waiting to do it together with journalists, who have been pushing for priority as frontliners.

He must have regretted his noble intention because he was found to be positive a few days later, the dreaded news coming to us via his ministry.

We all rushed to be tested, and unfortunately for one guest, he was snagged by the virus. While the prominent moderation advocate was found to be asymptomatic, he was hospitalised as he’s elderly.

Saifuddin is recovering and still texting and updating us on his condition. We pray for his and his wife’s speedy recovery at the Sungai Buloh hospital.

In Saifuddin’s case, he was infected by a staff member at his ministry, which reveals how it can be passed around so easily.

Kudos must go to Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shari, who had the political will to recommend for the MCO in six districts in the state, and for ceasing the Ramadan bazaar.

We can surely expect a backlash, but he has done the right thing. It’s a warped argument for those who want the bazaars to continue because factories and bazaars can’t be compared.

Data doesn’t lie. The infections in factories have dropped with the situation contained, but the spread has been at the bazaars.

In any case, they have operated for more than 25 days, and this is the final week of the fasting period.

Amiruddin has clearly placed the safety and health of the people above personal and political popularity, unlike other politicians.

We all know we can be exposed at the Ramadan bazaars or at meetings, but we never imagine getting infected by our family members, colleagues or close friends at meals.

It’s time to be reminded to jangan ke sini, ke sana again. Let MCO 3.0 be stringent, like a real one with no flip flop decisions or flexibility. And then, we can stop singing that lockdown blues.

New rule book: Enforcement agencies and regulators, including the police and MACC, need more budget and staff to fight complex crimes involving criminals of a different kind.

THE most highly publicised crimes these days are not robberies or murders but money laundering, scams, tender rigging, corruption and financial manipulation.

Throwing the rule book out the window, the police must now investigate complex crimes involving criminals of a different kind.

Many are politicians and corporate figures highly qualified and well acquainted with the law. Yet somehow, they still got caught.

Financial crime in the last few decades has increasingly unsettled governments worldwide.

The prevalence of economically motivated crime is no doubt a serious threat to the development of economies and stability. In fact, it has even crumbled governments.

The obvious case is 1MDB, which robbed Malaysia of a colossal amount of money and made our country an international disgrace.

Almost every financial crime, in whatever guise, now has a titled person connection.

Many of these crooks obviously used their positions to participate in activities that dishonestly generate wealth. These crimes aren’t just simple corrupt practices. Some even happen in the boardroom, where exploiting insider information or acquiring another person’s property by deceit is practiced for securing material wealth, reveals the International Compliance Association.

“… there are also financial crimes that do not involve the dishonest taking of a benefit, but that protects a benefit that has already been obtained or to facilitate the taking of such benefit. An example of such conduct is where someone attempts to launder criminal proceeds of another offence in order to place the proceeds beyond the reach of the law, ” it says.

Enforcement agencies and regulators, including the police, the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Agency, Securities Commission and now the Malaysia Competition Commission, are at the forefront of the battle with these financial foes.

The police and MACC have requested more budget and staff. They need officers who understand accountancy, economics and corporate law.

When a syndicate headed by a Datuk got smashed for cornering RM3.8bil in government projects since 2014, it exposed the scale of corruption in procurement exercises.

The mastermind reportedly controlled over 150 companies that were rotated to submit tenders and quotations to government agencies.

It’s hard not to be tempted by these profit-sharing jobs when the contract includes getting a luxury car and driver thrown in, club memberships and entertainment accounts.

But for the good guys, muscle alone won’t help in apprehending devious corporate figures who know all about shell companies and, manipulating accounts and hiding vital details.

Unfortunately, experts won’t join our authorities to thwart this malady because they can get better salaries and perks in the private sector. One can only fulfil national service up to a point.

Still, we need the expertise of officers who can understand the complexities of government projects, tenders and shell companies in this corruption menace.

MACC has a staff strength of only 2,800, the lowest among enforcement agencies in the country. A bigger budget is surely in order.

MyCC is still relatively unknown to most Malaysians, and even government officers, who are unaware of the concept of bid rigging. It has around 70 officers, 30 of which are investigators. News reports reveal that almost 3,000 bidders involved in tenders worth RM5.8bil are currently under scrutiny.

MyCC is now working closely with MACC on the recent cartel case. It actively carries out operations in many states, too. Its latest success is coming down on 90 companies engaged in tenders worth almost RM30mil.

The body also busted a bid rigging cartel colluding with seven IT companies in 2019. MyCC has been touring Malaysia since 2012 to advocate the dangers of bid rigging to the public and private sectors, while also publishing many guidelines for reference.

And to make its work that much more difficult, it also faces insufficient cooperation from certain groups to provide complaints, and is forced to deal with the lack of cooperation during inquiries and investigations. So, MyCC is due greater resources, too.

While it doesn’t strike the fear the police and MACC do, MyCC targets and investigates bidders and not the organisations which issued the tenders.

The beauty of MyCC’s system is that everything is handled under one roof. It investigates, decides and punishes the infringing enterprises in the bid rigging cartel, making it a quasi-judicial body.

MyCC has the authority to dispense with enterprises part of the bid rigging cartel and affect their finances through financial penalty. Without the companies and/or sufficient money, the owner(s) will not have a vehicle to rig or manipulate tenders. And MACC can penalise the person who accepts or offers the bribe, too.

MyCC can be as effective as MACC in plugging the leak of procurement in, not only government tenders, but also private tenders. It goes after enterprises which enter or manipulate the bidding process of a tender. MACC, on the other hand, focuses on elements of vertical corruption arrangement between the government officers and bidders.

Crime fighting is completely different these days, so our enforcers deserve all the support they can get. And with their hands so full, is there even time to tackle cybercrimes?

THE controversy surrounding the century-old SMK Convent Bukit Nanas has concluded happily, following the government’s decision to extend the school’s 60-year lease.

In fact, the Prime Minister’s Office also specified that permission granted is exclusively for education purposes.

That means, no mall or high-end condominium can be erected on the site.

CBN won’t have to worry when the lease officially ends on Sept 6 because judicial reviews in courts will no longer be necessary.

But to recap the issue, it was never about CBN facing the wrecking ball once its land lease expires, as feared by some alumni, and even the media.

Contention arose from the statement made by Federal Territories Land and Mines Office director, Datuk Muhammad Yasir Yahya, about the land returning to the government.

This conjures images of CBN being gazetted as an educational institution that’s fully government aided.

And that’s exactly what stakeholders – the school, teachers, students, parents and alumni – fear most. Picture CBN as just another school with its lost identity and values, all painstakingly built over the last 100 years. What a heart-breaking sight.

Let’s be honest. Many of our government-aided schools have become overbearingly pious, to the point that too much time has been allotted for religious education at the expense of subjects like Science and Mathematics.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that while he believes schools should provide religious education, it should not encroach on the teaching of other subjects.

In interviews while he was Prime Minister under the Pakatan Harapan government, Dr Mahathir said the push for more Islam in the curriculum was not a government policy, but the agenda of “certain ministers and civil servants” to promote the religion.

“They have their own interpretation of what is needed in schools to increase the knowledge of the religion, ” he reportedly said.

This is what an overwhelming number of Malaysians, especially those with direct interests, feel about the current CBN controversy – that if it becomes a government-aided school, it will lose what CBN stands for.

Interestingly, although CBN is a missionary school, most of its 800-odd students are Malays, and they want to keep the school – with its multiracial balance, open-mindedness and emphasis on English – intact.

With its urban set up, stakeholders are looking at other schools in the country and wondering if CBN will still get to retain its award-winning cheerleading and gymnastics teams, the latter of which has proudly produced the likes of former gymnast and now coach for the national team Dr Farrah-Hani Imran.

In the past, leotards and skirts have become sources of tiring controversies and accusations of improper attire, although logic eventually prevailed.

Although CBN has a Catholic background, most of us from such missionary schools can vouch that there were no attempts to convert us into Christians.

Instead, it’s at such schools, which I call the neutral ground, that students of all races gather to study and play together, and forge life-long friendships.

Those of us who attended such Catholic schools, previously called English-medium schools, enjoyed real friendships with people from other races, and not mere functional relationships.

Like all missionary schools, CBN promotes discipline, resilience and tenacity, and most importantly, multiculturalism, moderation and respect for all faiths.

CBN continues its tradition of annual prom nights, so its students can turn up decked in their best. Conversely, the school also sends its students to participate at nasyid competitions.

Unlike some city missionary schools, whose enrolments have succumbed to competition from Chinese primary and international schools, CBS has no shortage of students.

In fact, each year, it declines applications because the school simply can’t cope with more.

That certainly reflects on the quality of the teaching at CBN. And a list of alumni luminaries including Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan, artiste Adibah Noor, actress Vanida Imran, Bank Negara governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and former TV3 journalist Haliza Hashim, is hugely impressive, too.

The school, once perched on the slope of a hill where pineapple and coffee were planted, was founded in 1899, and has remained one of the best schools in our country.

But what is highly disturbing is that while a judicial review is pending in the courts, the FT Land and Mines Office announced an arbitrary decision.

Its director jumped the gun by announcing the land would go back to the government and CBN should become a government-aided school, suggesting funds wouldn’t be forthcoming if otherwise.

It’s also not his business to be involved in the deliberations and policy making of the status of a school, saying “that the government decided against renewing the school’s lease to bring about this change in status.”

Well, I have strong faith that CBN can raise enough funds without being a government-aided school. In fact, via crowdfunding, it has even been able to extend its multi-purpose hall.

Smart 55-inch television sets are now available in 30 classes, while mobile phones and laptops were donated to needy students to have online class access.

It’s the same story in Chinese primary schools around the country, where the community has rallied to raise funds to improve school facilities.

Regardless of CBN’s status, its students deserve the rightful financial support from the Education Ministry. There’s no reason for it to face discrimination in any shape or form.

However, it’s heartening that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has stepped in to end the issue. Thank you, sir.

Meanwhile, city schools are in danger of falling into the hands of developers.

One way to circumvent the issue is to renew the lease of such schools, and as for CBN, it should be classified a national heritage under the National Heritage Act 2005.

City schools, in the centre of Kuala Lumpur and Penang, must not be viewed as a source of cheap land.

In 2012, the SK Convent Infant Jesus in Johor Baru also faced a threat of relocation, with talk of the school being moved to Nusajaya, 50km away. Fortunately, state Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar intervened to prevent it, decreeing the then 87-year-old school a heritage building and exempt from demolition.

Congratulations to the stakeholders of CBN and Malaysians who spoke up for the iconic school in the heart of KL.

Its motto is most apt — Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty. You can count on the support of this Xaverian from Penang — Labor Omnia Vincit, or labour works all.

Malaysians who’ve benefited from the well-rounded education they received from the missionaries, remain eternally indebted to these dedicated brothers and nuns who profoundly shaped our values.

More vigilance vital: The overall number of Covid-19 cases in most states is presently unstable, with Kelantan and Sarawak displaying an increasing trend in infections.

IT’S hardly comforting news, especially when most of us were looking forward to getting some air.

Just look at the daily figures for new Covid-19 infections and fatalities in our country. They’re going up again.

On Saturday, we recorded 2,331 new Covid-19 cases, making it the second day in a row that new infections have breached the 2,000 mark.

Yet, many Malaysians seem lackadaisical and oblivious to the dangers around them.

They have either taken a defeatist attitude or embraced a false sense of assurance because the government has kicked off the vaccination programme.

It could also be that many of us have accepted that Covid-19 is here to stay, for a while at least, so we can’t continue to lock ourselves up and forsake our livelihood.

There’s indifference, and as the government applies flexibility on businesses, many of us have also taken things for granted because of this relaxation of rules.

Traffic jams are back, restaurants and malls are packed once more, and employers are now asking their staff to return to the office.

However, there are reports of employees taking their infections home. Likewise with schoolkids, which is why some schools have had to be closed.

The biggest concern is whether we’re at risk of a fourth wave of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 370,500 people and caused over 1,360 deaths nationwide.

This was Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob’s official statement, and not mere media speculation.

Last week, the defence minister, who oversees Covid-19 cluster matters, said the information was derived from the Health Ministry’s risk assessment over the past 14 days in states under the conditional movement control order (CMCO) and recovery movement control order (RMCO).

He said the overall Covid-19 case numbers in most states is presently unstable, and that Kelantan and Sarawak are displaying an increasing trend in infections.

Ismail said Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Pahang and Labuan recorded fluctuations in infection rates over the past two weeks, with case figures going up and down.

Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Terengganu and Sabah have all shown a decline in their infection rates, he said.

However, he said there are still many red zones in states that indicate an overall decline in infections, including Selangor, KL, Penang and Kelantan.

Pulmonologist Dr Ritesh Kumar has said that the virus is back with more energy, tactics and camouflage, and urged the people to be more vigilant.

The strain, he said, directly affects the lungs which means the window period is shortened.

He has seen a number of patients without fever but an x-ray report showed moderate chest pneumonia.

“The wave is more deadly than the first, so we have to be very careful and take every precaution, ” he said.The challenge for the federal government is whether it can lift the ban on interstate travel.

There have been no indications of what the government would do, although if the ban remains, it would be hugely unpopular. It won’t just be Muslims getting their balik kampung plans affected, because the rest of Malaysia aims to do the same.

Last month, the Health Ministry said travelling back to hometowns for the Hari Raya break may be a reality if Malaysians continue to strictly adhere to the standard operating procedure (SOP) and risk assessments on the Covid-19 situation in the country look positive.

It said there were six factors for consideration in the risk assessment concerning interstate travel. They include daily case figures, infectivity rate, capacity at hospitals’ intensive care units, the Covid-19 situation with infected health workers, and the screening tests.

“The MOH will review all data and facts before advising or recommending to the technical committee for decisions at the special meeting of the National Security Council, ” it said, noting that risk assessments were made periodically.

Politicians must not be tempted to play the populist card to allow balik kampung trips. It’s heart wrenching but it’s a sacrifice that we all need to adopt.

Some states have taken their own stance on Ramadan bazaars because of contrasting infection rates, but basically, someone’s going to be unhappy.

MOH officials have privately said that if they had their way, the interstate travel ban would remain, expressing concern that “politicians cannot be flexible in this case, or we will be back to square one.”

It’s good to hear that the Health Minister has been taking a cautious stand regarding the balik kampung issue and Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has also sought a review on National Security Council’s decision to relax certain conditions like allowing Ramadan bazaars to open.

With the vaccination roll-out still moving slowly and news of supply only being sufficient by June, Malaysia is certainly still poised in a precarious position.

Registration for vaccination remains slow, and those aged 60 years and above are eagerly awaiting April 19, when the second phase of the vaccination begins.

Many of us in this category have been impatiently checking our MySejahtera apps daily, but there have been no updates. But seniors apart, journalists should also be considered for early inoculation.

Press members meet people, especially ministers, almost every day, which places them in the vulnerable category. So, in Indonesia, they were put in the first batch for vaccination.

Economic frontliners including food deliverers, postmen, lorry drivers and those involved in the logistics and aviation industries, should be given due consideration, too, for being in the same boat.

As the number of infections continues to rise and vaccine supplies remain low, patience is wearing thin.