Main man: Dads, if you don’t already know, today is the day the world pays tribute to you. — 123rf.com

LET’S concede that Fathers Day is deemed less important than Mothers Day. By the way, dads, if you don’t already know, today is the day the world pays tribute to you.

If you are clueless, or no one around you remembers this special day, rest assured your children will be spared sulky faces or be reminded that they’ve missed an important day and made to stew with guilt.

Dads are generally less sensitive than mums. We are the ones you can share secrets with and be trusted with just about anything.

Most of us, being the cool dads we are, will merely shrug it off and dismiss it as just another ordinary day if we’re unceremoniously overlooked. It comes with the territory, after all.

It doesn’t help that most of us have no idea how Fathers Day should be celebrated. It’s the same with gifts – what do we ask for? The same as birthday presents? I wish there were guides for this. Perhaps we know we’ll never get the desired gifts, truth be told. Grown men are, in fact, kids at heart. Hope as hard as we may, but a Harley Davidson still won’t be gift-wrapped and parked in the porch, and neither will a real record player find pride of place in the hall. All right, I can understand the Harley, but not even a turntable? Hmmm….

So just thank your lucky stars if at least a dinner party is thrown in your honour, or you get the lame necktie or cuff links, which, in these WFH days, is really surplus to requirement.

Don’t be fooled with your false importance by the government’s directive that during the movement control order period, you’re the one allowed to leave the house to buy essential goods as the head of the family. Becoming the butt of jokes on social media is par for the course in this thankless role of fatherhood.

Growing up, I knew my dad was the man of the house. It was simply because he was the sole breadwinner, and we know money talks. Politicians say cash is king, after all.

That dynamic changes if both husband and wife are wage earners and, of course, when women are just as educated, and in many cases, even more so than their husbands.

Both have equal ownership, except that equal rights is a fallacy. It’s about the control of production and wealth, and even 19th century economist and philosopher Karl Marx predicted that.

If it’s not already common knowledge, women are smart. They have a way of “manoeuvring”, for the lack of a better word.

My dad, a Cantonese, is head of the family, but it was my mum’s dialect, Hokkien, which was spoken at home. As a kid, I didn’t ask why only Hokkien was spoken in the house. I just thought it was something ordinary.

So I grew up without being able to understand Cantonese properly, except for the handy expletives, of course.

My mum is Hokkien with Peranakan roots. She would cook up a storm, and we had curry almost every day. I barely recall eating Cantonese dishes at home from when I was young.

My dad was conditioned, as psychologists would say, and we were, too, but my mum astutely played the submissive role as a traditional wife.

In fact, she was the one calling the shots. Now she’s 89 and my dad 95 and she has finally prevailed to prove she is more than just the boss.

In my Bahasa Malaysia class in school, I was taught that a country’s capital is called ibu kota, and not bapa kota.

I asked my teacher, the late Cikgu Nordin, who came to school on his Vespa every day, why it wasn’t bapa kota.

His response was a painful reminder, and a permanent lesson that it has to be ibu, because as he pinched me, he yelled, “kepala bapak hang”, which translates to “your father’s head”, though it simply means “nonsense”. That somehow sounds much more impactful in Bahasa Malaysia.

And get used to it – it will always be Motherland, and not Fatherland.

Even Indonesians use the term “ibu pertiwi”, which is the Indonesian allegory of tanah air or, in direct translation, “land and water”.

Look, we don’t even use bapa jari but ibu jari for the thumb. So, again, men don’t even figure.

Dads have more negative connotations. I learned words like bapa ayam (pimps), and I was asked by the same Cikgu Nordin if I had watched P. Ramlee’s classic Anak-ku Sazali, which I of course had.

“Itu lah anak bapak,” he told the class, about the problem of being a spoilt, daddy’s favourite child.

Anak-ku Sazali, which means Sazali My Son, is a 1956 Malay movie about love between a man and a woman, dreams that can come true and a father’s overwhelming love for his son. The talented Tan Sri P. Ramlee plays the father’s character, Hassan, as well as that of the spoilt son, Sazali Hassan.

But more P. Ramlee movies, including Keluarga 69, had entered my life, too, and later, Cikgu Nordin taught me “bapa borek, anak rintik”, which is the equivalent of “like father, like son”.

Don’t despair if your family members don’t remember Fathers Day. Look, after Bapa Kemer-dekaan, Tunku Abdul Rahman, our memories begin to fade.

Let’s be honest, most of us can’t be certain if Tun Abdul Razak is known as Bapa Pembangunan (Father of Development), Tun Hussein Onn as Bapa Perpaduan (Father of Unity), Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Bapa Pemodenan (Father of Modernisation), Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Bapa Pembangunan Modal Insan (Father of Human Capital) and Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Bapa Transformasi (Father of Transformation).

So if we can’t recall who’s who beyond the first Prime Minister, don’t blame anyone if Fathers Day is forgotten.

Politicians are making their sales pitches again. However, Malaysians have greater life concerns.

ANYONE unfamiliar with Malaysian politics must think we’re living on the edge with the ruling government commanding a wafer-thin majority in Parliament.

On the contrary, Malaysia is politically stable. It may be hard to explain to foreigners that despite the Perikatan Nasional government’s need to shore up its numbers, the country is calm and peaceful.

In other countries, especially in Africa and West Asia, huge protests and riots would have rumbled in the streets, with the military sometimes even plotting to wrest power from civilians.

Instead, most of us here have simply shrugged off the political situation, and just watched nonchalantly the rinse-and-repeat scenarios.

Nothing amazes us anymore, to the point we could be accused of being indifferent and cynical about the political shenanigans.

Most Malaysians simply have other priorities. Many of us are worried about losing our jobs, paying bills, and if you are a businessman, struggling with cash flow and debt collection.

That’s what sends a chill down the spine for Malaysians, so the last thing we care about is squabbling politicians, because politicking is what they do best.

Any endeavour of theirs, including defections, is always done in “our” interest, with them claiming they could serve us better if they switched camps. Of course, none of them has conceded to all this being about their own selfish interests.

When an opposition MP defects, the lawmaker is a traitor, but when a government MP jumps to the opposition, the lawmaker is a principled man doing it for justice.

And Malaysian politicians have short memories or pretend to have amnesia. Both the federal and Sabah governments are guilty of being formed by defectors, and not to forget the bizarre action of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in collapsing his own Pakatan Harapan government with his resignation as PM.

What fools we all are for thinking party hopping is comprehensively deplored.

But back to the order of the day, most of us are also adjusting to the recovery stage of the MCO after three months.

Although many offices have reopened, we’ve become used to working from home (WFH), and employers have even encouraged their staff to continue with this practice. With schools not fully operational, except for students taking public exams, many parents have appealed to their bosses to let them continue with WFH arrangements.

Last week, a regional survey revealed most Malaysians were still not ready to take part in cultural events, hit the gym, or travel either locally or abroad this year. In contrast, Indonesian, Singaporean, Filipino and Thai respondents were more comfortable indulging in such activities as their countries gradually rolled back Covid-19 restrictions to kickstart their economies.

“The people of Vietnam are ahead of the curve in fully adapting to the ‘new norm’ and see the pandemic as being behind them, ” multinational polling outfit Ipsos said in a statement on its survey.

The survey involved 3,000 people from six Asean countries, with 500 respondents from each including Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

In a nutshell, Malaysians want to feel safe. Safe from the Covid-19 virus and that their jobs are secure, too. Without mincing words, they don’t care about politicians because there’s little they can do besides whine and grumble with their circle of friends over coffee and WhatsApp chat groups.

Last week, at least some uncertainties were resolved, in some ways, after we’d been tantalised in the psy-war about the state of our federal government.

Most of us were kept guessing about Perikatan’s true numbers, although the consensus is that it’s probably around 114 seats.

Last week, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealed that Pakatan Harapan have 107 Members of Parliament. It was as good as confirming the Opposition does not have enough MPs to form the federal government immediately.

The next day, Anwar clarified that the 107 MPs he cited as supporting “Pakatan Plus” didn’t include independent lawmakers or other non-attendees of a high-level Opposition meeting on June 9. The office of the PKR president released a statement saying that the 107 MPs were based on the numbers that each party presented during the meeting at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya. A day after the meeting, Anwar said, during a Facebook Live session, that the grouping had 107 MPs.

“Now, we have 107 (MPs) in this group, and we will move forward as a team to ensure that the people’s mandate is respected, and the inconsistencies and corruption are halted, ” he said.

Earlier, there were claims on social media about Pakatan having 129 MPs, but there hadn’t been a peep from the party on the real quantum until last week.

There was even a widely shared piece of fake news about Dr Mahathir and Anwar seeking an audience with His Majesty, the Yang diPertuan Agong, to present the numbers. But media outlets were able to dismiss this cheap fodder because a meeting between the King and these two personalities would be no secret.

Dr Mahathir had also expressed doubt about having the numbers to regain power from the Perikatan government.

“Well, numbers keep on appearing and disappearing. We don’t know. What we do know is at the time Muhyiddin was sworn in, he did not have the majority, ” Dr Mahathir said. He has also claimed that his supporters were wooed with positions, with many succumbing to these offers.

But that’s not the only obstacle apart from the inability to attain the simple majority, what with the impasse since both Anwar and Dr Mahathir can’t agree on who should be the PM, if Pakatan forms the government.

Anwar’s camp is also irked by suggestions that Dr Mahathir should be allowed to be PM for at least six months.

On Friday, PKR central committee member Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid made it clear that the party would never allow Dr Mahathir to be PM.

“He (Dr Mahathir) should retire and leave it to the next generation who can serve the country, ” he said.

Bersatu leader Dr Maszlee Malik also found himself rebutted by PKR MP Nik Nazmi after he said the post of the ninth PM was not the absolute right of Anwar

The MP for Setiawangsa tweeted that he “agreed” with Dr Maszlee that it also wasn’t the absolute right of Dr Mahathir.

So it looks like there won’t be a change of government, at least for a while, not until the Opposition has the numbers and can decide who should be the PM.

Can we all now get back to real life? Let’s boost our economy and sustain businesses, pay workers and make sure the virus has truly been thwarted in Malaysia, with no possibility of a fresh wave of infections. With what has already happened, we should know better now.

IT’S time for Malaysia to kickstart its economy since we’ve succeeded in flattening the Covid-19 pandemic curve, and as we gear up for the reopening of more businesses, travelling must surely be one of them.

One of the worst affected sectors since the outbreak of the virus must be tourism, travel and hospitality. So, we need to keep these businesses afloat because travelling is essential for businessmen, and the rest of the workforce.

For a start, we hope interstate travel will resume soon with the conditional movement control order (CMCO) ending next week.

The ball should get rolling with domestic air travel, so local tourism can be revived.

Many countries in Europe have already begun cross-border arrangements.

It goes by different names, such as travel bubble, travel corridors and air bridges, but essentially means the same thing – to lift the ban on border closures.

The bubble or corridors denote a safe or protected perimeter between two travel destinations, countries or states already declared green zones and ready to receive tourists, which is expected to help the tourism sector recover.

According to Channel News Asia, there are already bubbles being mooted between Australia and New Zealand, and between South Korea and 10 territories in China.

“In Europe, a safety bubble has been proposed between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as the world kickstarts efforts to reopen the tourism sector. This is a much-needed injection for European tourists who have already given up on their summer holidays.

“In Penang, the state government had also proposed to implement the travel bubble approach between states declared as green zones to help the domestic tourism sector recover. The concept is designed to resume travel activities and restart tourism industries while adapting to the new normal,” it said.

That means the 14-day quarantine requirement from both sides would need waiving.

Perhaps, these health SOPs can be replaced with a Covid-19 test certificate no less than five days old, as a travel requirement.

So long as they have the necessary documentation from their companies or partners supporting their travel, business people should also be prioritised.

Of course, standard social distancing procedures should be installed, including the requirement for masks and sterilisers, and avoiding congestion at security clearance at boarding gates.

Relevant authorities, including the immigration and customs, should also review their operating procedures to allow effective but smooth processing.

Domestic interstate air travel will be a good warm up for these officers before we reopen for international travel. The government should consider opening borders between Malaysia and Singapore, and Malaysia and Thailand, soon, because these nations have the virus under control.

It should also consider allowing travels between Sabah and Tarakan, Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side as well as Penang and Medan, Indonesia. Sarawak should also be ready to accommodate tourists from Brunei, which has a low record of infection.

In the case of Singapore, the virus infection spikes may seem steep, but that’s only because of immigrant workers living in dormitories. The rest of Singapore has mainly remained unaffected.

Singaporeans are the biggest foreign revenue contributors to our tourism industry.

According to Tourism Malaysia, for 2019, tourist receipts grew 6.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM41.69bil during the first half of the year (1H19), compared with RM39bil in the corresponding period the previous year.

In a statement, Tourism Malaysia said the rise in spending came on the back of a 4.9% growth in the number of tourist arrivals to 13.35 million in 1H19, versus 12.73 million in 2018.

The average length of stay (ALOS) rose 0.4 nights to 6.2 nights, from 5.8 nights, while per capita spending climbed 1.9% to RM3,121.6, from RM3,064.7.

Top 10 international tourist arrivals for the first half of 2019 were from Singapore (5,381,566), Indonesia (1,857,864), China (1,558,782), Thailand (990,565), Brunei (627,112), India (354,486), South Korea (323,952), Philippines (210,974), Vietnam (200,314) and Japan (196,561), Tourism Malaysia revealed.

Asean arrivals constituted 70% of total tourist arrivals in 1H19, while the medium-haul market contributed 20.8%, and the long-haul market made up 9.2%, reads a news report.

The highest tourist receipts came from Singapore (RM11.56bil), followed by China (RM7.09bil), Indonesia (RM5.71bil), Thailand (RM1.7bil) and Brunei (RM1.52bil).

Obviously, reopening borders must be gradually and carefully done because Malaysia can’t afford another wave of infections after all that effort.

All the hard work of our front liners, who have put their lives on the line, would come to naught if we’re not careful.

With Visit Malaysia 2020 now postponed, we shouldn’t be caught on our heels as other nations aggressively prepare for tourist arrivals.

Singapore and China have reportedly agreed to launch a “fast lane” to facilitate essential travel for business and official purposes, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement last month.

The arrangement includes having “effective Covid-19 prevent and control measures in place,” which will debut between the six Chinese provinces or municipalities directly under the central government – Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang – and Singapore.

“The arrangement will be gradually expanded to the other Chinese provinces and municipalities. Both sides agreed to explore the increase of air links between the two countries for the fast lane,” MFA said.

“Both sides attached great significance to securing the connectivity of production and supply chains and agreed to level up the efficiency of freight linkages and customs clearance, including facilitating the flow of goods such as essential medical supplies and food,” the ministry added.

Minister for National Development, Lawrence Wong said on Thursday that the Government is discussing with its foreign counterparts the prospect of setting up travel with countries where the spread of Covid-19 is contained.

It will only be for essential travel, to cater to businesses that require employees to move within the region.

Last month, Thailand’s state tourism body revealed that it plans to rebrand its tourism motto from “Amazing Thailand” to “Amazing Trusted Thailand” in the post Covid-19 era.

The new brand name is aimed at selective markets and destinations within Thailand that guarantee health and safety standards for both tourists and locals.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor, Yuthasak Supasorn told the media that he expects international business to return to Thailand within a few months.

“October is the estimated month that we think tourists will visit Thailand, therefore, all state agencies and the private sectors are working on a proper recovery plan that won’t risk a second wave of Covid-19,” said Yuthasak.

The TAT said it’s formulating a strategy, so foreign tourists from countries removed from the “Disease-Infected Zones for Covid-19” list can visit provinces with no records of infections, or provinces that have not had a new case in the last 28 days, reports Xinhua.

When Thailand talks about reopening to tourists in October, it probably has in mind China tourists, since October is their holiday season, or the so-called Golden Week, during which the republic celebrates its national day.

Thailand also removed China, along with South Korea, Hong Kong and Macau, from its list of “dangerous disease zones” from last month because they’ve displayed effective preventive measures and containment of the coronavirus.

It’s time for us to showcase Malaysia as the safest Asean tourism spot, since we have the best narrative. And while our planes rev their engines again and airports bustle into excitement once more, we hope local authorities have prepared our tourist destinations.

So, let’s welcome tourists with our special Malaysian made batik face masks, and other homegrown unique health and safety wares, because there’s no more time to despair.

A boost to TAR UC, with five decades’ worth of producing stellar graduates.

IT was a red-letter day for Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) and the Chinese community when MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong announced the institution would receive RM58mil from the Finance Ministry.

Subscribing to MCA’s politics is besides the point, and even if detractors split hairs over the quantum and disbursement of the funds, it remains the best recent news for all concerned.

Truth be told, MCA built the institution from scratch with the support of ordinary Malaysians, encompassing everyone from hawkers to tycoons.

TAR UC is now 51 years old. Through those years, it produced more than 200,000 graduates, with its alumni even including present DAP leaders.

Millions of ringgit have flowed into the college, and anyone who has run an institution of higher learning would know that it hardly sets the cash registers ringing. Just survey the market – many private colleges and private universities are up for sale.

TAR UC, a non-profit private university college named after Tunku Abdul Rahman, was set up in 1969 by the MCA. In 2013, it was bestowed university college status. It’s 75ha main campus is located on Jalan Genting Kelang, Kuala Lumpur. It has five branches, one each in Penang, Perak, Johor, Pahang and Sabah, with an accumulated enrolment of more than 28,000 local and international students. With the upgrade to university college (UC) status, it can now offer bachelor’s degrees and postgraduate programmes.

But what has made TAR UC so special and tugged at the heartstrings of the Chinese is higher education becoming affordable and accessible to the community.

It was set up at a time when places were limited in the mere five public universities in Malaysia – Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Today, we can barely keep count of the number of public and private universities and colleges. But even with the plethora of options, TAR UC remains a top choice because its graduates can quickly secure jobs, since its array of courses are practical and marketable.

TAR UC is supported by seven faculties in undergraduate degree programmes, namely the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, Faculty of Accountancy, Finance and Business, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Built Environment, Faculty of Communication and Creative Industries and Faculty of Social Science and Humanities.

There is also the Centre for Pre-University Studies and the newest, the Centre for Postgraduate Studies and Research, which offers a variety of master’s and PhD programmes.

Having interacted with many TAR UC graduates, I’ve found them humble, hungry and hardworking, a sentiment echoed by many employers, too. They may not be extroverts or the most eloquent, seeming a little timid and quiet even, but they compensate with their other qualities.

Honestly, employers are looking for quality workers and not just smooth talkers only good at presentation and public relations, with little to show in the end.

The RM58mil from the Finance Ministry is important because it will go a long way in helping TAR UC and its students who need financial aid.

Most significant is, the RM58mil will no longer be channelled through a third party.

This departs from the decision made by the Pakatan Harapan government, when former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng insisted that TAR UC founder MCA must cede control of it to continue receiving government funds.

Explaining the RM58mil allocation, Dr Wee said the Finance Ministry retrieved the remaining RM18mil of the RM40mil that Lim had allocated to TAA’s trust fund previously. The fund, Tarcian Alumni Association Education Trust Fund (TAA-ETF), has seen some of Lim’s critics claiming it even includes businessmen close to the DAP.

Although there are five alumni associations dating back to 1980, only TAA – which was set up only in 2012 – was selected.

The other alumni associations include the Federation of Tunku Abdul Rahman College Alumni Associations (founded in 1989), the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College Engineering Alumni Association, the Tunku Abdul Rahman College School of Arts & Science Alumni Association, both established in 1982, and the Tunku Abdul Rahman College School of Business Studies Ex-students Association, set up in 1980.

Dr Wee said the allocation by Lim to TAA-ETF was on an ad-hoc basis, an arrangement that wasn’t detailed in the national budget.

“To carry out the government’s commitment since the establishment of TAR UC, previously known as TAR College, a matching grant of RM40mil will be channelled to the university college through the Higher Education Ministry this year under Budget 2020, ” said Dr Wee, who is also TAR UC Education Foundation Board of Trustees’ chairman.

To cut a long story short, Lim wanted the MCA to severe ties with TAR UC, which the party set up and supported financially for over 50 years. It was to punish the MCA, basically.

For many Chinese, the act was simply unnecessary and even seemed vindictive.

The result was the Chinese voters revolted, lucidly reflected in the Tanjung Piai by-election, where MCA’s Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng won with a 15,086 majority.

According to a news report, Chinese voters – who overwhelmingly supported Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan) in 2018 – were the most unaccepting of the pact during the Tanjung Piai by-election, revealed findings by independent research firm Ilham Centre.

It said voters were disenchanted with Pakatan’s unfulfilled pledges, poor communication and leadership, and were generally unhappy with the state of the economy.

It said the Chinese votes switched despite expectations that Barisan Nasional’s precarious partnership with PAS and scandals involving Datuk Seri Najib Razak would alienate non-Malay voters.

“The biggest sway or protest votes came from the Chinese, which was 34.5%, while Pakatan only lost about 5.1% of votes from the original votes during GE14.

One sore point was Lim’s refusal to hand TAR UC its RM30mil allocation, but the final straw was his slashing of its government allocation from RM5.5mil to RM1mil under Budget 2020.

One of the most unfair criticisms of MCA in many elections has been its perceived lack of contribution to the Chinese community, with finger pointers even including parents and graduates of TAR UC and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar).

The irony is, TAR UC’s main campus and five branches are all located in pro-Opposition areas. Even Utar in Kampar, Perak, is in a pro-DAP parliamentary constituency. Some Utar academicians are, in fact, anti-establishment, and are often consumed by the excitement of general elections, which proves the point that although these institutions are linked to the MCA, freedom of thought has always existed.

Few are aware that VTAR, a private vocational college set up in 1992, offers skills courses including beauty therapy, automotive, furniture technology and engineering.

The MCA is also behind the Institute of Child Education Studies and Community Education, which is a non-profit and private early childhood education college (founded in 1993), and the only such institution of this nature focusing solely on pre-school teachers’ training. Over the past two decades, more than 2,500 pre-school teachers graduated with recognised professional accreditations from this institution.

It hasn’t been an easy ride for the MCA, given how it has been chastised and rejected by the Chinese community, for whom the party was founded to serve and represent in the first place. These criticisms, painful as they are for its leaders, have also come from those who have benefited from these programmes.

As with all things, it’s always much easier to cast aspersions than to build and run these institutions which have produced many graduates.

The loudest politicians include those who haven’t even set up a kindergarten, let alone college or university.

So let’s give credit where it’s due.

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.