Though marked with muted pomp this year, Hari Raya will still instil the spirit of the festive season for Muslims and the rest of Malaysia.

THIS is surely the most unusual Hari Raya, with many of my Muslim relatives and friends unable to join their loved ones at the family home. This is a Hari Raya with no balik kampung, basically.

Even if they are at home with family, there will neither be open houses nor visits to other homes to take in the festivities.

The past week, recently reopened shopping malls in the Klang Valley remained near deserted and practically devoid of Raya decorations.

Even the melodious Raya songs have vanished from the air. Sudirman’s evergreen Balik Kampung seems incongruous with the ban on interstate travel.

The streets in the city and its surroundings are bereft of the decorative lights which have always brightened the festive mood.

I’ve sorely missed the buka puasa feasts and Ramadan bazaars which never fail to bring Malaysians together.

Over the past two days, while conveying Raya greetings, I learnt that many of my Muslim friends are celebrating alone since they’re unable to make that much desired and customary annual trip home.

Many of these singles are maintaining a brave front and have even conspired to cook Raya dishes themselves for the first time.

They have sportingly sent me pictures of their efforts, though some confess that their experiments may be better visually than gastronomically.

But as much as they miss their ageing parents, many have advised their siblings and friends against visiting them, in case they unwittingly contract and pass the dreaded coronavirus to their loved ones.

Every Hari Raya message now ends with the de rigueur “Stay Safe” advice, following the traditional Maaf, Zahir Dan Batin, which translates to requesting forgiveness for physical and emotional misconduct.

This festival isn’t just for celebrations but also a time to seek atonement for sins committed through words, thoughts, deeds and actions, done wittingly or otherwise. So this is the best time to ask for forgiveness, which is the most beautiful part of this festival.

Above all else, though, this season is also perfect for saluting the frontliners who’ve had to continue working during Hari Raya. It’s a testament to their dedication that many have been working since the movement control order (MCO) period began on March 18.

When I took my mother-in-law for a Covid-19 test on Friday at a hospital, in preparation for a minor procedure, I chatted with some of the Muslim nurses and doctors. They said they would be back at the hospital to continue working tomorrow.

Likewise, our policemen, soldiers, firemen, Immigration and Custom officers, Rela volunteers, council enforcement officers and non-governmental organisation workers who will be out on the streets while other Malaysians celebrate in their own ways.

Their hard work and heroic efforts in fighting the pandemic have earned worldwide recognition and praise.

Yes, brickbats are par for the course too, especially from those who look down on Malaysia and its work, ignorantly believing that anything Western is always superior.

These are the sceptics of daily infection reports, those who question Malaysia’s reasons for not testing its 32 million population yet who have also barely raised an eyebrow over why China isn’t doing the same for its 1.43 billion people.

Unfortunately, it’s simply not possible and is, in fact, a waste of resources because tests should be done on a targeted basis.

It’s lame and pathetic that there are people questioning the motives of a video by an American dentist lauding the Malaysian government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Dr Dustin Pfundheller had to refute allegations that he was paid to produce the video, which has spread across the world.

In fact, he isn’t the only foreigner who has applauded our country for its efforts in battling the pandemic, since many scientists have documented Malaysia’s success in academic journals.

A US academic who was here during the MCO period, has praised our response to the spread of Covid-19. Dr Jason Hassenstab, an associate professor of neurology and psychological and brain sciences at Washington University, Missouri, said the United States could emulate measures adopted by other countries, including Malaysia.

More importantly, in an online survey supported by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia involving 4,850 Malaysians conducted between March 27 and April 3, most of the respondents viewed positively the successful control of Covid-19, with an 83.1% approval rate.

The study found Malaysians had confidence in the health authorities’ ability to combat the disease (with a 95.9% rate) and the way in which the Malaysian government is handling the crisis (reflected by an 89.9% approval rate).

The survey also found that Malaysians had adopted safety measures, where “most participants were also taking precautions such as avoiding crowds (83.4%) and practising proper hand hygiene (87.8%) in the week before the movement control order started. However, the wearing of face masks was less common (51.2%).

“This survey is among the first to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia. The results highlight the importance of consistent messaging from health authorities and the government, as well as the need for tailored health education programmes to improve levels of knowledge, attitudes and practice.”

The report, “Public Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Towards Covid-19: A Cross-Sectional Study In Malaysia” was written by Arina Anis Azlan, Mohamed Rezal Hamzah, Tham Jen Sern, Suffian Hadi Ayub and Emma Mohamad, in PLOS ONE, an internationally-reputed peer-reviewed open access scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science in the United States.

The extensive report, which was published on May 21, was edited by Wen-Jun Tu from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College of China.

The results overwhelmingly indicate that Malaysians have strong belief and trust in the work of Health Ministry director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and his team of medical staff who have worked tirelessly from day one.

We believe in all of you. Thank you!

As Malaysians celebrate this auspicious day, I wish to dedicate this column to all the frontliners who continue keeping us safe.

To all Muslims, Selamat Hari Raya, and Maaf, Zahir Dan Batin. And Stay Safe, too.

I CAN’T be certain if Malaysians share my sentiments, but I get indigestion from the intense politicking in our country currently. Most of us are emotionally and financially drained from 60 days of the movement control order (MCO), in which time most businesses have taken a beating.

We’ve bled billions of ringgit, jobs have vanished, salaries have been slashed and companies are upending.

The real impact, in fact, will only be felt in the coming months. So the worst has yet to come even, since no one can predict the duration of this economic meltdown, with the coronavirus still living a charmed life.

Malaysia is weathering its worst recession ever, while other developed nations are facing deep downturns due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has said the recession has not only affected the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), but also contributed to a rise in unemployment.

“The important thing here now is how fast we can manage this (Covid-19) pandemic situation. If we can manage the situation swiftly, our nation’s economy and development could also recover.”

So the last thing the country needs, especially during this time of uncertainty, is more politicking.

While the rest of us are trying to hang on to our jobs, these politicians are preoccupied with trying to overthrow each other.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will continue to face the stigma of helming a “backdoor government” with the legitimacy of his government in question. This will be harped on by his critics until the next general election.

He faces a motion of no confidence filed by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, ahead of the Dewan Rakyat meeting tomorrow.

But the latest is that the meeting ends after the opening address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, with no other government business scripted for the day.

Predictably, opposition members have cried foul since the no faith motion has already been submitted.

The criticism now is that the PM has made a mockery of the parliamentary process and fears he’s unable to demonstrate his majority.

But even if it were a full day or week, it’s debatable if the motion would even be reviewed, since government matters always take precedence in the order of the day.

It’s the government which decides and informs the Secretary of the House on matters of priority.

Many have forgotten that the Private Members Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1975 – also known as RUU355 – tabled by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has not seen the light of day until now.

If the no faith motion isn’t addressed, it would basically be a move to stain the Prime Minister’s record, and if it does, it’s unlikely Muhyiddin will be defeated because he has the majority support, slim as it may be.

Opposition Members of Parliament have privately acknowledged this to the media, although they won’t go on record to say so.

But it looks like Malaysians and MPs will have to wait until Parliament meets in July to find out the true numbers as mind games are played by his (PM’s) opponents to cast doubt on his hold on the numbers.

The sitting arrangement tomorrow will be illuminating, though.

While there is ire from the opposition bench as well as voters who put Pakatan Harapan into power in the 2018 General Election, it was, in fact, the leadership of PH which opened the door for Muhyiddin to form the current government.

More specifically, it was Dr Mahathir who opened the door for Muhyiddin. It’s academic now but the truth is Dr Mahathir, for whatever reason, quit as PM and caused the collapse of his own government.

He had no intention of passing the baton to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as is widely known, and neither was he comfortable with the DAP. Politics is cruel and as philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli famously said, “the end justifies the means”.

As Dr Mahathir became more indecisive, Muhyiddin and his men took advantage of that door left ajar.

But over the past weeks, we’ve seen that door turn into a “revolving door” as these politicians showed little interest in Covid-19 and its economic implications and instead were more into who should control the various state assemblies by becoming Mentri Besar and Speakers.

While most of us wish that these Houses will sit for more than a day, I doubt important issues are on the minds of these lawmakers besides destructive politicking.

Look at Melaka, where these politicians couldn’t even sit for more than half a day.

Last week, it was reported that then Speaker Omar Jaafar, who is aligned with PH, was prevented from reciting a prayer, which was the opening agenda of the sitting.

These impatient state assemblymen lack the decency and patience to even wait for prayers to begin.

A book was supposedly thrown at the Speaker, which led to chaos in the hall. Omar had to adjourn the sitting twice, and still, it degenerated into a war of disparaging words designed to demean fellow legislators.

For a while, some of these state assemblymen seemed to have forgotten that we’re in the fasting month.

Words defy when a state assemblyman walks to the other bench to confront his fellow lawmakers, and relentlessly hurl words like “babi” (pig) at DAP lawmaker Low Chee Leong, who responded with “kau pengkhianat” (You’re a traitor).

It reflects badly on independent assemblyman Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee, a former DAP representative, who has a history of controversies. His behaviour is disgraceful and reeks of racism.

It’s doubtful this meeting would be meaningful even if it were to stretch for three more days.

In Perak, Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan assemblymen ruffled each other’s feathers over the state assembly’s position.

I hope that the lawmakers keenly paid attention to Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah’s speech when he graciously and thoughtfully put on record his tribute to the frontliners fighting Covid-19, during the opening of the assembly last week.

He acknowledged it was due to their dedication and professionalism that most of those infected were able to recover. He then led the state assemblymen in giving the frontliners a standing ovation.

The Sultan of Johor expressed his unhappiness over the spread of a “disunity virus”, citing the “turmoil and power grabs which have caused concern among the people and threatened the political and economic stability of the country”.

Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar said those infected by the “disunity virus” tended to lose themselves and forget the welfare of the people. His Majesty has certainly said it right.

Malaysians want to know our lawmakers’ ideas in dealing and living with Covid-19’s destruction and continuing threat, and the practical steps adopted to improve our daily lives.

We’re curious about their sense of charity stretching beyond dispatching food and aid to their constituents, assuming they even did that.

In fairness, the one-day Parliament meeting and the disruptions to the state assemblies would have deprived the more rational lawmakers from raising positive ideas and questions.

But I’m not sure if anyone really wants a fresh General Election because the 2018 polls cost us between RM500mil and RM600mil, and it’s safe to assume it would cost more now. Malaysia is broke and we simply can’t afford to burn that kind of money.

With Covid-19 still lurking, the last thing we need is listening to politicians high on promise but low on fulfilling their election pledges.

We are already busy fending off the coronavirus so we don’t need the addition of a political virus, which fascinatingly, never dies in Malaysia.

While the world continues to battle a deadly threat, two superpowers seem to be making Covid-19 a pawn in their fight for supremacy.

MOST of us take US President Donald Trump’s words with a pinch of salt. We all know he is inconsistent, temperamental, erratic and well, some would say, even unstable.

It must be difficult to work at the White House, given the continuous dismissals of key staff, and even more arduous for its diplomats worldwide.

Then there is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is resolutely on a war path with China. The rivalry with another big gun is understandable, but the obsession is unnerving because Pompeo indulges in daily tirades against the republic. But for the rest of the world, it’s unsettling because no country would fancy being caught in the crossfire.

The Americans and Chinese are equally important to the world, so taking sides is the last thing we need to be doing. But the blame game isn’t helping anyone, especially when we’re all still battling the dreaded virus. The back and forth between them has left us none the wiser and bewildered.

So, where did the virus come from? The wet market in Wuhan, which sells exotic animal meat, or a laboratory not far from it? Either way, the devastating consequence is over 276,000 deaths and 4.02 million infected across the globe.

The answer remains unknown, but Pompeo claims he has “enormous evidence, ” although he has yet to back his claims. Trump, without divulging details, has also claimed he has seen evidence the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source.

If you read some of the media reports, the laboratory is often depicted as a secret lab, like some kind of Cold War setting from a James Bond movie. However, it isn’t because it was set up with the help of France and is widely known to the science community.

Ironically, both Trump and Pompeo seem to have conveniently ignored the US Director of National Intelligence, who said its analysts were still examining the origins of the outbreak. The gist is that there is “wide scientific consensus that the Covid-19 virus was not man-made or genetically modified.”

The editor-in-chief of The Lancet, Richard Horton, had said it’s “not helpful” and “unfair” to blame China for being the source of the Covid-19 pandemic, and added “China isn’t responsible for this pandemic. It just happened.”

The Lancet is a reputable weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and the world’s oldest and best-known of its kind.

Then, there’s the recent CNN report which said intelligence shared among Five Eyes nations indicates it is “highly unlikely” that the coronavirus outbreak was a result of an accident in a laboratory, and instead, originated in a Chinese market. CNN quoted two Western officials, who cited an intelligence assessment that appears to contradict claims by both Trump and Pompeo.

The countries in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing coalition is made up of the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These nations share a broad range of intelligence in one of the world’s tightest multilateral arrangements.

The problem with leaders like Trump and Pompeo, who have been bashing “Communist China” in their rhetoric ahead of the US presidential election, is that they like to think, or try to convince their listeners, that China runs inferior, sub-standard laboratories. This is just a well-orchestrated political and media campaign, with the support of its allies in Europe, Australia, and some say, Taiwan and India, too, to cast aspersions on China.

But the Wuhan Institute is a top-notch laboratory which has, for years, collaborated with its global counterparts. One significant cooperation is with James Le Duc, director of the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas, one of the largest active biocontainment facilities on a US campus, which was closely involved in training the Wuhan institute’s staff from before it opened in January 2018.

Le Duc, who toured the lab just before it began operations, said scientists from the Wuhan institute had been active in ongoing dialogue facilitated by science bodies from the US and China, via participating in discussions and sharing their work. He also defended the institute’s deputy director Shi Zhengli, whose work in researching viruses in bats made her a target for conspiracy theorists, according to the South China Morning Post. She is the research scientist who discovered the link between bats and the original SARS virus which afflicted the world in 2003.

“She has participated in each of our dialogues; in every session, she has been fully engaged, very open and transparent about her work, and eager to collaborate, ” Le Duc was quoted by the SCMP.

It’s common knowledge now that Trump didn’t take the virus seriously initially, dismissing it as a type of common flu and completely ignoring its deadly threat.

Putting a timeline to his series of follies, on Feb 26, Trump was reported saying, “It’s a little like the regular flu that we have flu shots for. And we’ll essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner.” Then on March 27, he still defined the coronavirus “a flu, ” or a germ.

China has naturally faced criticism for its lack of transparency with its initial slow response to the outbreak first reported in December. It’s undeniable that bureaucratic China doesn’t practise the kind of openness and swiftness in dealing with information like other democratic nations.

But scepticism remains rife over the details of confirmed cases and fatalities in other highly populated countries, even if they are democracies. Inexplicably, no accusations have been hurled at them.

Its either they have not been open – for economic reasons – or they have simply not conducted sufficient testing. Or, they just can’t afford it. Take your pick.

Let’s not deliberate integrity and credibility here. The world is acutely aware of the infamous confession, or rather, boasting by Pompeo at a talk in Texas A & M University on April 15,2019.

“When I was a cadet, what’s the first – what’s the cadet motto at West Point? You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do. I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. (Laughter.) It’s – it was like – we had entire training courses, ” Pompeo told the audience.

When the US and its allies attacked Iraq in 2003, they justified the war with accusations that Iraq had developed weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein’s government’s purported links with terrorist organisations, particularly Al-Qaeda. Of course, we’ve known for a while now there were no such weapons as it was spin doctoring at its finest, and Osama bin Laden wasn’t remotely close to the scene of the “crime” either, but instead, hiding somewhere between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Likewise, the problem the US has with China isn’t about bats, viruses, tariffs, spies, technology theft, Hong Kong protests, Taiwan, South China Sea, WHO membership or Huawei, but economics and the fear of being displaced at the top.

But the world is worried that as decibels from the White House increase, the flu will degenerate into nothing more than a Cold War between two superpowers.

Finally, the real thing: Nasi kandar is one of the things that not everyone can cook from watching YouTube lessons. A nasi kandar restaurant in George Town, Penang, preparing to reopen tomorrow.

IT’S been the best news after 45 days of the movement control order (MCO), where we were mostly in lock down. However, we will never get back to what our lives were before.

The killer virus is still lurking out there. There is neither vaccine nor cure yet, and we know that confirmed cases and fatalities will continue for a long time more.

But the returning freedom, beginning tomorrow, is still cause for celebration, even if it come with caveats.

Unless we are recluses, most of us long for the companionship of our colleagues and friends.

We’ve had to be brave in the face of adversity, claiming we enjoy working from home when we’ve, in fact, pined for some space, which ironically, is away from home. Strangely, that space constitutes the office.

Of course, family bonding is good, but being stuck together for 24 hours, day in and day out, has ended up being “family bondage” (of the wholesome variety) for many.

And as much as staying safe at home can be a blessing, those staying in small flats can tell you how it can just as much be a curse. Like the rest of us, they’ll be itching to get out of their homes the very first thing tomorrow.

I can’t wait for the joy of being stuck in a traffic jam again and listening to the same lame lines from radio deejays, with their tried-and-tested flat jokes, and the condescending tone of personalities appearing on a business station. So much love from so much dislike – that’s life.

I’m not sure what to expect tomorrow, though. I suspect there may be quite a few who will call in sick or take emergency leave. Through no fault of theirs, they’ve probably developed some psychological problems, or they could simply have valid reasons. Ultimately, being cooped up isn’t fun.

Or maybe their car batteries are dead, if they had obediently abided by the MCO, and have not “ke sini dan ke sana” (gone here and there).

Some may just turn up after lunch because they need to handle “urgent matters, ” like meeting clients and collecting overdue payments. And with room still left to stretch the truth a little, given the situation, getting their hair done could likely be another excuse, except that barber shops and hair salons will still be closed.

I guess I will be seeing caps and head scarves. Then again, who’s had the opportunity for self-grooming in a time like this?

I’m not sure if human resources managers or safety officers have devised seating arrangements, especially for those of us whose desks are side by side, which is the setup in many newsrooms.

There will be those who will call up and explain that it’s better for them to work from home.

They probably have sound reasons as some, interestingly, have become more productive since the MCO began. There will be the usual suspects, whom I think still have two or three more seasons of a Netflix show to complete. Sound familiar?

Of course, casualties will abound, too. There will be missing faces who are on no-pay leave or, worse, have been asked to leave their jobs while their bosses struggle to keep the company afloat.

From tomorrow, many employers will be busy looking at how they can restart and pick up the pieces.

For these affected Malaysians, they will have nowhere to go since their companies have either shut down temporarily or permanently. It’s going to be a heart-wrenching story.

Where daily living is concerned, we can no longer leave home without wearing face masks. We’ve become like the people in China, Hong Kong and South Korea, who have been wearing them for a long time now because of the smog, as well as the SARS epidemic from years ago.

I will be wearing the mask daily from now because I want to protect myself and others. Basically, everyone must feel secure and safe.

I can’t wait to take my dogs out for a walk tomorrow. The three of them have been locked in for just as long and they, too, are feeling anxious and frustrated. Two of my beautiful canines are powerful animals which require daily exercise.

Like their master, they, too, have overgrown hair, and long nails which need clipping.

I don’t know when we can travel out of the country again. I haven’t requested refunds from the airlines, preferring to defer my scheduled dates, instead. I’m not even sure if these airlines will still be around in the coming months, though I hope they will.

As for now, with restaurants starting to open and us being allowed to go out, I’m wondering what I’m going to do with all the food I hoarded in my refrigerator.

One lesson I’ve learnt during the MCO period is, not everyone can cook from watching YouTube lessons. Nasi kandar time finally, and a banjir one, please.

THE movement control order (MCO)will eventually be lifted, so Malaysia must resume rebooting its economy, while simultaneously calculating losses.

It’s certainly not going to be easy drawing up a post-MCO business strategy, especially since many of our customers and partners have either sunk or are struggling to stay afloat in an unprecedented environment.

There are no business models to fall back on. So, it’s time to fly by the seat of our pants as the world thwarts an unseen enemy against the backdrop of a vaccine remaining a mere vision. Malaysia will recalibrate its economic model, where we must continue with our lives knowing the virus lurks out there freewheelingly.

Ultimately, businesses must resume. While much has been written, sentimentally, about how we have taken the planet and our lives for granted, Covid-19 has also given employers a chance to have a real hard look at their staff, and for the government to test the mettle of their ministers and civil servants.

It’s all hands on deck now. For business organisations, the MCO has provided the opportunity to reveal their staff’s tenacity, determination and resolution to ride through the crisis together as a team.

Unfortunately, drawing up a post-MCO strategy is not for the fainthearted. Instead of pitching in, some of the workforce has resigned to negativity with their employers’ plans for a way out.

This is the time to separate the wheat from the chaff – selfish ones refusing to make sacrifices, and those going the extra mile to ensure their company’s sustainability.

As we pore over our reboot plans, China is obviously a model we should consider because they have much to share with us. Our country is certainly not out of the woods with businesses only feeling their way out.

China’s industrial production reopened smoothly, and even life in Wuhan – the original epicentre of the pandemic – has resumed, though with numerous restrictions still in place. For example, no one can even take a train ride without the “green approval” on their mobile phone. Checks are stringent and the offence is serious.

BMW China resumed operations with its offices opening from Feb 3 and its plant operating since Feb 17. In fact, Xinhua reported that about 85% of its dealers are open.

The report also said that since Feb 10, French cosmetics giant L’Oreal, gradually reopened its operation sites in China, while adhering to strict precautions. It said around 80% of retail locations has reopened, and that traffic has been progressively returning since last month.

Hermes created world headlines recently when the French brand’s Guangzhou store opened and bagged US$2.7mil (RM11.8mil) on its first day, the highest daily haul for a single boutique in China.

So, the purchasing power of many rich Chinese remains intact, and given the number of them out there, it’s a stark reminder to the world of their economic clout, too.

Chinese restaurant chain Haidilao welcomed customers once again after being shut in late January. However, customers reacted angrily when they found that prices had jumped by nearly 6%, sparking outrage in Chinese social media platform, Weibao.

The South China Morning Post reported that Haidilao had to issue an apology and restored prices to pre-closure rates. It ended up offering discounts of up to 33% on takeaway orders.

Likewise Xibei, another Chinese restaurant chain, went down the same path initially, only to put its plan into reverse later. It too had to issue an apology.

Yes, not everything is rosy, particularly in a key sector like automotive, where plants have only slowly been re-opening since March. Production rate is still low due to poor orders and supply chain issues, according to a Roland Berger study.

Automotive sales plunged by 82% in February 2020 compared to Feb 2019. Travel restrictions have been lifted, but for Chinese airlines, there are still no signs of recovery, what with a pessimistic forecast for Q2 2020. On the manufacturing front, 96.6% of large and medium enterprises resumed work from March.

But it’s a good re-start by China, which can best be described as a silver lining because it’s the largest market for many countries, including Malaysia.

Last year, Malaysia and China’s bilateral trade hit another record high, rising to US$124bil (around RM503bil) for the full year 2019, said China’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Bai Tian, in a report.

Citing Chinese customer statistics, Bai said this is a 14.2% increase in bilateral trade from 2018’s figure of US$108.66bil (RM443bil). China remains Malaysia’s largest trading partner, followed by Singapore and the United States.

“Part of the huge bilateral trade is linked to the investments coming in, because when Chinese investors come to Malaysia to set up factories, they buy equipment from China. Once production increases, a portion of those products are then sold back to China in large percentages.”

For tourism, China has been Malaysia’s third biggest tourist source after Singapore and Indonesia since 2012, displacing Thailand from the top three.

According to the latest statistics, Malaysia has consistently welcomed over two million Chinese tourists a year since 2016. That figure hit a record high of 2.94 million people in 2018. While travel will be down in the doldrums for a while, what needs focus is how well our Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry and the related stakeholders have prepared for once the boom gate is lifted.

Yes, Visit Malaysia 2020 is dead and buried. There will be near-nil international travel for a while.

But the hunger for travel, after months of being locked in, has never been greater, and with airlines struggling to stay afloat, it’s a good time to plan for that eventuality. China could well provide our first arrivals. So, we’ll have no shortage of competitors in Asean who would want to be first to benefit from the initial wave of Chinese tourists.

According to Travel Weekly Asia in an April 2020 report, Thai tourism has already started laying the groundwork.

In a China Thailand Travel Sentiment Survey 2020 conducted in mid-April, based on 1,000 travellers, it found that 71% of respondents indicated a preference to visit Thailand. It found that August, October and December were the most popular months for trips in the remaining half of the year, with Chinese tourists expected to be younger and more independent.

No doubt, the road to recovery will be rough and twisting. Consulting firm, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) encapsulated that prognosis perfectly by saying governments must develop a resilient and adaptive strategy for re-opening, allowing for adjustments as events unfold and new information emerging.

The weeks of lockdown isn’t a holiday at home, but a time for political and corporate leaders to reflect and think of how to remain in shape, eager to be at the starting blocks and be the first to take off.

So, cut the whining and fight to survive.

This photo taken on April 15, 2020 shows a man wearing a face mask while walking at the Wuhan Baishazhou Market in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province. – AFPpic

Little knowledge is dangerous, and the way the west wields it makes it damning for the rest of the world.

THERE’S growing outrage in the West following a report that China is re-opening its wet markets. Though erroneous, in the eyes of westerners, these places are inextricably associated with wild animal markets.

Most of the discontented have never been to a wet market, which is just a place for fresh produce. In fact, this is probably the first time they’ve even heard of the description.

So, when they stumble on the term “wet markets”, their minds immediately race to the infamous Wuhan market where Covid-19 was first reported.

The news involving these wet markets have added fuel to the fire of China bashing, courtesy of the killer virus.

Wet markets are commonplace all over Asia, especially in South-East Asia, because consumers know the produce at these places is fresh.

Unlike the farmers markets in the West, wet markets in Asia mostly have wet floors, hence the name. The climate in this region necessitates the use of copious amounts of ice to maintain food freshness, and coupled with the use of fresh water to keep the place constantly clean, wet markets can seem a chore to navigate.

Markets in the West, even those with street stalls, don’t deal with live, fresh seafood. There are no tanks or tubs filled with live fishes, shellfish or crabs.

Basically, “fresh” sea food in the West comes dead. In fact, most times, prawns are already boiled even. This doesn’t sit well with Asians in general, especially the Chinese.

Asians prefer wet markets over supermarkets for fresh seafood because the difference of their freshness and choices is stark.

In Hong Kong, most wet markets – located on the ground floor of flats – are clean, and they sell an impressive array of Asian seafood.

In China, I’ve even seen live stingrays, squids and octopuses in tubs, which isn’t a sight here.

The largest choice of sea food in Malaysia can probably be found at Sabah’s markets, which have fishes I’ve never seen before in peninsula wet markets.

Yes, I agree sanitary is a concern in wet markets all over Asia, especially at the poultry sections. The pong and poor hygiene in slaughtering chickens, for instance, needs overdue attention by the authorities in the wake of the pandemic. It should be banned, like what Malaysia and Singapore have done.

But the bottom line is – wet markets are not animal markets. Most wet markets don’t sell snakes, dogs, cats, wolf cubs or baby crocodiles.

And certainly, most mainland Chinese, and ethnic Chinese elsewhere, don’t dine on these animals. In fact, as China becomes more affluent and tuned in with the times, there is growing pressure to ban dog meat because it’s simply cruel and unacceptable.

It’s poor argument when some Asians resort to the “culinary tradition” defence to justify their consumption of these animals. Pets are not food for human beings. It’s uncivilised – period!

Thanks to some bizarre food shows on TV, the perception formed is that Asians consume a lot of exotic meat, which is furthest from the truth. So, likewise, not all westerners eat rabbit meat, pheasants or garden snails, either.

And Foie gras – the liver of duck or geese fattened by being force fed corn via a feeding tube – surely can’t be staple food, too.

I’ve always enjoyed visiting wet markets in the Asian countries I’ve been to, because I like the feel and smell of these places. It’s a meeting place for people who go about their lives and a melting pot of local culture and charm.

But young Asians prefer the cleaner and air-conditioned supermarkets, as they regard these outlets healthier and more sustainable.

Affluent Asians find supermarkets more comfortable and in line with their lifestyles. Besides, parking is also more organised than at the often-congested wet markets.

The supermarkets’ ability to buy food produces in large volumes directly from farmers has also made their prices more attractive than those at wet markets.

According to a Euromonitor International report, supermarkets now account for about half of all grocery spending in China, going up about 36% from 1995.

“Add in convenience stores and the like, and so-called modern grocery has about 68% of China’s retail wallet, giving wet markets less than a third.

“Still, that store-based spending is overwhelmingly concentrated in packaged, rather than fresh produce. Foreign retailers that once hoped to dominate China’s staple goods sector such as Carrefour SA and Metro AG have struggled and sold out of local ventures – but wet markets are still going strong.”

Research by N. Chamhuri and P.J. Batt, from Curtin University of Technology Perth, Western Australia, on Malaysians’ preferred source for fresh meat in the Klang Valley, uncovered startling results. Despite the increase in supermarkets and hypermarkets, traditional markets have ably coexisted with modern retail formats and remain the choice for fresh meat.

But Asian governments must clean up their wet markets, even if they aren’t animal markets, since past virus outbreaks have been linked to these places, where the potential for zoonotic transmission (disease that can spread from animals to humans) is gravely higher.

What’s deplorable is that the confusion over wet markets and wildlife markets has led to xenophobia among some US leaders, celebrities and the media, who are all calling for the closure of these food resources in China.

They have ignored, or missed, reports that since Jan 26, China has banned the trade and consumption of wild animals for food, but with news of wet markets being re-opened, old pictures depicting the sale of these animal meats have been recycled as visuals to accompany the news reports.

The truth is, it’s easier to buy wild animals online. Go figure.

And this may come as a surprise, but international wildlife trafficking is worth an estimated US$10 – 20bil (RM44bil – RM88bil) annually, with the US a chief consumer of wildlife products (legal and illegal).

Yet, a poll commissioned by WildAid found that 80% of Americans know little or nothing about illegal wildlife trade within the US.

Perhaps, after watching Joe Exotic in Tiger King on Netflix, Americans would know better, and be stunned to learn that there are more lions in the US than in the whole of Africa.