I AM not sure if our Malaysian leaders, especially politicians, are aware that their pictures posted on social media are being watched closely – or rather, scrutinised.

Besides their opponents, who are spending much of their free time finding fault and ways to ridicule them, ordinary Malaysians are also following closely what their elected representatives are doing.

You can tell from the Facebook and Instagram posts whether they have been uploaded by their media assistants or by they themselves. If they are deadpan and serious, in an “officialdom” manner, we know it’s the work of the media handlers.

It’s not that they are not creative, but no one wants to run foul, so they rather stick to the same, safe formula. After all, as with most bosses, they know that they won’t be credited when their work is good but are the immediate fall guy with just one mistake.

The more candid posts, with a few grammar mistakes thrown in, are the real ones that come direct from the person crafting these posts.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin probably has the best posts with a good mix, as he shares pictures of his personal life, work and even his current fashion choice, with his followers.

He is a natural, and that is perhaps because he was briefly a journalist and TV commentator, with a trained eye for newsworthiness.

So, it’s not just pictures of him at seemingly boring meetings, poring through documents with equally boring looking officials, or sitting around with constituents in villages.

After a while, these pictures become a blind spot, an advertising term which basically means that the audience doesn’t really bother anymore. In short, who cares?

But in the present movement control order (MCO) period, Malaysians are putting our ministers and Members of Parliament under the microscope.

Well, most of us are bored and restless, and are glued to our handphones or computers. We have too much time.

Many of us have noticed that some leaders are obviously not practising what they are supposed to be doing.

They have actually set bad examples, as they continue with what they have always been doing, unwittingly, as a habit. Their officials are not alerting them to this, or are too subservient to tell their bosses off.

One minister has practically ignored social distancing, with most of his officials still seated closely next to each other in pictures.

Members of the media are no better – they are seen huddling around him, putting their microphones up close to him, and exposing themselves to him – remember, droplet transmission is a factor in the Covid-19 outbreak. What social distancing?

It is also obvious that this minister doesn’t like wearing masks, as evident from the many pictures with him “unmasked”.

There is one minister who posed for a photograph after a meeting with others. Some were wearing masks and some weren’t, and at least one person shouldn’t even have been there.

Sure, taking the picture may have merely took a minute, but this is still unacceptable simply because the minister’s job includes promoting social distancing.

Then there are one or two others who have this inane habit of still wanting an entourage of officials to greet them, in a feudalistic manner, at functions and, of course, at their press conferences.

There has been a backlash recently against ministers for arranging unnecessary events merely to show they are working or just for the media attention – all at the expense of the frontliners who rather be working then being mere photo props.

The reality is this – they don’t need any of these functions. The “stay at home” call also covers ministers.

The only one who should talking to the media at conferences are Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The rest can get to the media through Zoom, FaceTime or just via a social media post.

At a time when most of us are discouraged from physically collecting documents or food from deliverers, we still see pictures of MPs in the standard food handover functions.

If in the days before Covid-19, we kept seeing our Yang Berhormat riding their kapcai in villages without their helmets, we hope that in the post-MCO period, especially during the Hari Raya period, they at least put on face masks.

The reality is that wearing face masks will be the “new normal” from now in Malaysia, and so will the “Salam Malaysia” greeting (as opposed to handshakes).

The last thing we need is to let our guard down after all our MCO efforts.

Private students

IT’S a less talked about business in Malaysia as the various industry players from the other sectors lament about their struggles to pay bills, cope with cash flows and keep jobs.

But among the hardest hit is the education business and that means private colleges and universities.

Not many people, including even top government officials, realise that the education sector is a huge revenue-earner.

At least RM11.8bil comes from the contributions of international students, mostly from private higher education institutions, and RM31.5bil more in the form of tuition fees and living expenses through food and rentals.

Education is one of Malaysia’s biggest exports as we have the 10th largest market of international students worldwide.

It’s a multi-billion ringgit business, and it can be regarded as a low-hanging fruit, as Malaysia now desperately needs to find money to keep the country going.

It is not just about keeping the economy from collapsing and saving jobs of Malaysians but finding new ways to help our national coffers.

It is a no-brainer that we can’t continue to depend on crude oil and palm oil.

I spoke to Datuk Parmjit Singh, who heads the Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities, after hearing the growing sentiments of the education sector.

For a start, we have lagged behind, despite the lofty targets as other neighbouring nations have also allowed foreign universities to set up branches. The foreign public universities are competing for foreign students.

Our rules, affecting foreign students, have neither changed nor relaxed. With the arrests of foreign students, including one doctorate student who died from heart attack while in detention, we made news globally for the wrong reasons. Other grievances included the call for better part-time working hours for students.

Some government officials still do not understand that this is a revenue-earner. It has created many jobs. It would help if the government plays less of a regulator but a supporter of this business.

Covid-19 has landed a huge blow to the industry as the movement control order (MCO) came into effect during the peak of a major recruitment season for Malaysian institutions of higher learning, particularly for local students post SPM and STPM.

“Many had to abandon preparations and plans for recruitment activities midway. While some were able to run e-Counselling services, this is not as effective as face-to-face enrolment on campus or during exhibitions and roadshows to address queries from parents and prospective students.

“The impact on recruitment is further compounded for institutions who are, at the same time, heavily dependent on recruiting international students.

“In addition, new intakes that were to have commenced as planned in late March and April, were postponed resulting in institutions being unable to meet cash flow requirements.

“At the same time, all major expenses including staff costs and rentals continue to be incurred during this period, ” said Parmjit.

For most institutions, employee salaries and infrastructure costs take up about 75% of operating costs. Some universities have already suspended the posts of consultants and contract staff, as a start.

And online study is not as simple as downloading a Zoom app, as it much more complex with additional unbudgeted investments to acquire and provide online tools, support resources and facilities as well as cloud services.

The cash flow problem has cropped up because most institutions allow for monthly and semester fee payments by students.

“For example, institutions which have semesters commencing in March and April have been unable to collect fees from a majority of students whilst they are studying online with the MCO in force. Those who have postponed the commencement of the new courses in March and April are equally affected, ” he said.

While one can argue that payments can be made online, the reality is that most students only pay up when they are present in campus.But the fear is that if the MCO or Covid-19 situation prolongs, there will be further impact on all institutions due to deferment or withdrawal from studies, especially by foreign students who have returned to their home countries.

Will the foreign students return? Well, that would depend on how we fight the Covid-19 outbreak, and most parents, would not like the idea of sending their children to Malaysia if it remains high on the list of affected countries. Let’s remember that they have other choices.

Parmjit said: “A number of factors would influence their decision, for example the impact on their personal finances; for those who are sponsored or under scholarships, would their sponsorship or scholarship continue post Covid-19?; travel and/or visa restrictions imposed by their respective countries or by our authorities; students adopting a wait-and-see approach and many will choose to defer their studies or find alternative destinations to complete their education.”

It is has been widely-reported that universities in other countries would face a similar predicament in terms of their international students returning to continue their studies. Many reports have highlighted estimates of between 20% and 40% of international students not returning immediately to continue studying at their host universities.

So what can the Malaysian government do to support this revenue-earning sector as part of a stimulus package in the existing term and long-term post-MCO?

It cannot be denied that the private education industry has struggled and grown totally unaided without any substantial fiscal support from the government compared with other sectors over the last four decades.

Parmjit has appealed to the government to introduce a stimulus package that would help the industry attract international students as soon as travel restrictions are lifted which must include the immediate revamp of Education Ministry Global Services and a review of the eligibility criteria for incentives and facilitation provided by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp.

Malaysia also needs to make itself more attractive to international students.

According to the United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), Malaysia is among the most preferred tertiary education countries among international students.

Unesco’s International Students Mobility Survey 2014 ranked Malaysia as the 12th most preferred education destination in the world.The lower cost of living, use of English, a diverse culture, comfortable lifestyle and currency exchange rates have made the country attractive but we need to push ourselves to be more competitive.

It will help if the student visa process is made easier and faster, if the requirements are met after vetting.

There is no point in making Malaysia an education hub if the government does not get the support of all its agencies especially the little Napoleons.

Applicants will be put off if there is a lengthy process in comparison with other countries.

And finally, let’s face it, many Malaysians need to adopt an open attitude towards foreign students, especially the non-Caucasians.

The reality is that a majority of our international students are from Bangalesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, China, the Middle East and Central Asia.

They don’t deserve to be treated as illegal immigrants if they have the necessary documents, and there is no reason for the police and immigration to harass them as perceived. Perception is everything, unfortunately.They are here to study and there is no reason for us to make it difficult for them to enter the country because of their appearance or colour of their skin.

It’s good that a permanent help centre is operational at the KLIA but we really need to change our ways.

Last year, there was a reported 130,110 students in Malaysia from 136 countries, mainly those in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa but for the private higher education institutions, there were 89,346 students as of February 2020. As of 2018, there were 92,415 foreign students in these colleges and universities.

The numbers have kept decreasing and with Covid-19, it will hit us even harder.

Mr Prime Minister, please drive the message down, as a former Education Minister, that this is a revenue-earning industry and the sector needs all the backing, as education is essential even in a recession.

FINALLY, the announcement that we had been bracing for – a two-week extension of the movement control order just as we passed the one-week mark.

It has not come as a surprise to most of us as the number of Covid-19 cases has continued to go up.

The Prime Minister, in making the extension announcement, also revealed that the trend was expected to continue for a while before we see a decline in the number of new cases.

It is a good decision by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, although many businesses had hoped that this extension would not happen.

It is a painful decision as small businesses will collapse with a loss of jobs as their cash reserves run dry. It would just be impossible for many to sustain their business.

Most businessmen have expressed their fear that many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will not last six months if their sales continue to drop.

For ordinary wage earners, who are still getting their salaries while working at home, they know it’s not a paid holiday. They may not be able to grapple with the enormous problems of their employers who are juggling the bills now, with most facing zero revenue.

For daily wage earners, especially drivers and construction workers, a month without income is a nightmare.

But saving lives is now the priority. Malaysians are entering the most crucial period where we must break down the transmission chain.

This is our last chance. This is the only tiny window that we have to ensure that most of us will get out of this safe, or to put it bluntly, alive.

As at noon today (March 25), the number of people who had been infected by the virus reached 1,796, with the death toll now at 17. The numbers have continued to rise.

The extension of the MCO will mean not enough has been done and if the trend continues, after this extra two weeks, Malaysia will need even more stringent measures, including a total lockdown or curfew.

On Tuesday (March 24), Sarawak became the first state to impose a curfew from 7pm to 7am.

The regulation will last until March 31, and is an additional and stricter measure being enforced by the state government to stem the spread of Covid-19, which has claimed five lives in the state.

The coming weeks will be a rough time for all of us. But surely much more for our hospital staff, who are logging in long hours and working in extreme conditions as they cope with an average of 100 cases a day.

It is a war that we cannot lose. Losing is not an option. Let’s remind ourselves again, that the third wave will be as big as a tsunami – and these are not my words but those of Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The last thing this country needs, at this critical juncture, are Malaysians who post racist and insensitive videos and comments on social media.

They need to be arrested or to get psychiatric help but luckily for them, we have bigger worries such as fighting the killer virus.

The authorities will get back to you once this is done, as it’s another disease we need to tackle.

An idle mind are the devil’s workshop, but idle time is the bane of the boss’ existence, much to the peril of the employee.

AFTER five days of the movement control order, the average Malaysian office worker has found out that working away from the office doesn’t amount to escaping their bosses.

It is fast developing into a “plague” as workers now have to deal with their bored bosses operating from home.

Most of us agree that if bosses are busy at the office, they would be kept occupied with their endless meetings, business meals with associates, golf with politicians, and entertainment with clients.

These are called essential services – to keep clients happy.

But as the days have gone by, going online has become a virtual nightmare for many.

Just when we thought we could sit in front of our laptop with our ears plugged into Spotify, we are being told we have to “look presentable” even when operating from home.

We might be away from the office, but we’re certainly being watched.

The dress code requirement, even if casual, is a reminder that this isn’t a two-week holiday – work must proceed as normal, only from home.

Since my entire wardrobe is packed with batik shirts, a standard fare these days, I just can’t imagine myself sitting in my room in a batik shirt dealing with employers.

Let’s admit it, our bosses don’t trust us. Not one bit. So, many of them have insisted that online meetings must start at 9am. Previously, office meetings began at 10am because superiors were stuck in traffic jams, especially if offices are in downtown Kuala Lumpur.

Now, this 9am meeting schedule is bad. I’m not sure if it violates the rights of workers. I don’t even know who to ask any more since the Human Resources Minister role has become a revolving door.

Now we can’t even walk away for a teh tarik at the canteen or elsewhere with our colleagues to whine about our politicians and our bosses, in case they buzz us again.

The super-sweet three-in-one teh tarik sachets that we make now at home will kill us with diabetes faster than the Covid 19 virus. This can’t go on for another two weeks. Malaysian workers will turn into zombies.

It’s clear that boredom, and the endless nagging and scolding from the bosses’ spouses, are affecting them. These emotional problems are eating into their brains, like those movies about contagion viruses that we probably don’t want to watch now.

No wonder working class Malaysians have experienced more scolding since the movement control order (MCO) was executed. It’s a chain reaction, bos kena marah kat rumah, bos marah kita lah.

An investment banker friend lamented to me that his clients keep calling him every other hour for advice and decisions since the stock market is in free fall.

He said clients have lost their marbles with the beating their profits have been taking, and the investment in stocks are also seeing red all the way. So harga saham jatuh, kita kena marah pulak. Aduh, nasib kita.

To add to the misery and pressure, Datin No 2 sudah marah because the boss has not gone out since MCO restriction. Datin No 2 sudah buat bising dia lonely.

Then, there is the biggest nightmare – the micro-managing boss who’s digitally illiterate.

The endless WhatsApp texts, FaceTime, online conferencing and calls have little value. These are the bosses who still insist on emergency meetings in the office, even if they’re not in the essential services category. What social distancing?

“What’s not essential? We are going under if we continue like this, of course, it’s an emergency, ” these bosses bark.

Amid coping with the bosses, I also have to deal with the endless texts from friends with messages that look like cut and paste jobs: “Bro, very bored, what are you doing now?” Do I really look like the type who goofs around?

And as a true-blue Penangite, despite having stayed in Kuala Lumpur for close to 30 years, I still crave my nasi kandar, prawn mee and char koay teow. The MCO is literally eating into me with all the kopi tiam closed.

It’s now confirmed that it’s a global conspiracy to force the working class to work 24 hours a day. Trump is right, after all.

And scientists will soon reveal that inactivity, besides work, will make us more susceptible to the virus.

I’ve reached the lowest point of boredom – the proof is watching Sound of Music on Astro at 3pm.

* This is a tongue in cheek piece that is not to be taken literally. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission is too busy tracing fake news.

NO flip-flops please. The government needs to stand firm in carrying out the measures that were announced as part of the movement restriction order.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin cannot afford to bend the rules, make compromises or reverse decisions, as that would put at risk the actions that have to be taken to fight the killer Covid-19 virus.

Health director-general Datuk Seri Noor Hisham Abdullah has rightly said that Malaysia risks seeing a third wave of the virus, adding that if that happens, we will see many victims.

He has warned, in clear terms, that failure is not an option and this third wave will be as big as a tsunami, more so if we have a lackadaisical attitude.

Malaysians have only a small window of opportunity to break the two-week transmission chain.

The number of confirmed cases, so far, has not dropped and there are fears that it will go up further.

It doesn’t help when we hear talks are already underway to reopen the southern land crossings with Singapore, barely 48 hours after the order by the PM.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad must be under tremendous pressure from Johorean workers, business groups, and especially Singapore, which depends on the Malaysian workforce.

He is asking for exemptions, promising increased health screenings and submitting a mitigation plan, but these are mere afterthoughts and essentially would see us going back to the massive bottleneck that we see each day, all over again.

Purported stringent checks, if really effectively carried out, will only hold up the traffic flow and we can imagine what the scene would be like.

Nice try, but if we allow this exemption, we are exposing Malaysians to greater risks.

Malaysia has already made enough blunders, including imposing inter-state travels that require police permits, only to have the order rescinded wihin hours.

None of our police top guns expected the large crowds that swarmed police stations nationwide, and one can imagine the number of bodily contacts that took place.

It would have been much simpler if all Malaysians needed to do was to file the application online, via the Web or an app, but the damage was already done. It was not a practical and enforceable decision unless a curfew was imposed.

Likewise, when the movement control order was imposed, the government did not emphasise the need to stay at home, and not carry the health risks to their families back home. It really was a debacle.

Our leaders are always mindful, perhaps to the point of instilling a false sense of assurance, in their choice of words. Yes, we should not panic Malaysians, but let’s be serious: we are facing an escalating crisis.

It’s good that only the PM has been given the job to talk, and perhaps a few senior ministers. The last thing we need now are conflicting statements or inane remarks that all is well and fine, when it isn’t.

We are worried about taking strong measures, with the fear of a political backlash. But, barely two days after the imposition of strong restrictions, many Malaysians were still flouting the order with continued indifference – although the PM’s “stay home” appeal on television did help to create greater awareness.

Let’s not go the Italian way, where the country has become the epicentre of the virus in Europe, although Covid-19 had already surfaced on Feb 18, where a man sought treatment but was not diagnosed with the virus and was even allowed to go home.

On Feb 23, after more cases and the first two deaths were detected, authorities reportedly put about 50,000 people in Codogno and 10 other towns under lockdown, it was reported, as more measures were imposed on nearby Milan, Italy’s economic engine, including the closure of schools and a 6pm curfew for bars and restaurants.

But like Malaysians, the Italians took life lightly, with Wired in its online edition reported that “without full blown lockdowns, Italians continued to be on the streets. Every day, pictures surfaced of packed ski resorts, free cultural events or people enjoying drinks in crowded places.”

The latest news was that of 345 new Covid-19 deaths in the country, taking its total death toll to 2,503 – an increase of 16 percent.

The total number of cases in Italy rose to 31,506 from a previous 27,980, up 12.6 percent – the slowest rate of increase since the contagion came to light on Feb 21. Italy is the European country hardest hit by the coronavirus.

In another article on Italy, quoting University of Oxford researchers in the journal Demographic Science, the writers pointed out that frequent travel between cities and family homes may have exacerbated the “silent” spread of the novel coronavirus.

“Young people working and socialising in urban areas interact with large crowds, where they may pick up the disease and take it home. If they have no symptoms, they’ll have no clue that they’re infecting their elders, the most vulnerable population, ” Wired reported on March 17.

That sounds familiar, and this is what Malaysian health authorities fear the most from the balik kampung exodus.

We have already used up 48 hours of the two-week deadline, and if we fail to keep the number of confirmed cases down, then it’s time for stricter measures, such as extending wider social restrictions or even imposing a lockdown.

As Italian health researcher Nino Cartabellotta has been quoted as saying, in Wired, “waiting strategies have always favoured the spread of the virus.”

For Malaysia, any u-turn now will surely be ill-advised.

And please, YAB Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Abang Openg, make sure your bodyguards have their body temperature taken and use the sanitisers too, please.

MANY Malaysians don’t seem to get it. We are to stay at home, period. Instead the movement control order has led to many of us hitting the highways to balik kampung.

Some of us have gone on “Cuti Cuti Malaysia” and joined the large crowds at tourist spots, at least, until last week.

The worst is the large number of Malaysians who still eat at restaurants and food courts, that are flouting the laws by remaining open and allowing dine-ins.

I woke up this morning to find pictures that have gone viral showing scenes of people in Sarawak, having breakfast at eateries.

Then there was a picture of a large number of people at a Penang food court waiting for their food to be packed. It did not show these Penangites eating, but the number of people sitting and chilling out defeats the purpose of the government’s decision.

In most of the places, it involves older people, who are most at risk.

Malaysians are taking this order too lightly although the number of Covid-19 confirmed cases have shot up dramatically with the first two deaths reported.

We now have the highest number of cases in South-East Asia, yet some of us are taking it lightly, and even indifferently.

Beyond reading the daily news and talking about it, our actions and health practices, especially the constant washing of hands, are still not being practised by many.

There were over 16,000 people including 1,500 foreigners at the Tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling mosque, with the health authorities now fighting against the clock to trace those who had attended.

A 34-year-old Malaysian man who attended the event died on Tuesday, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba announced, the first death linked to the Feb 27-March 1 event.

Out of Malaysia’s 673 confirmed coronavirus cases, nearly two-thirds are reportedly linked to the four-day meeting, Dr Adham said.

The reality is that it will be difficult to trace all the participants because of the mobility of people, and it doesn’t help that over 1,000 people would have since left Malaysia.

It’s a time bomb. They may not even know that they have already caught the virus and would have passed the killer bug to fellow travellers and their family members.

No one can tell how many of these participants had been infected and are, in turn, spreading the virus.

A Christian pastor from Sarawak has also died from Covid-19, making the two the first Malaysian fatalities.

While he has a history of diabetes and hypertension, it isn’t known where the first point of contact was.

It cannot be verified if it was from a gathering such as a church event or a wedding but certainly efforts have been made to screen those he had contact with.

Malaysians need to stay home – the current restricted movement is just for two weeks, which is the incubation period of the virus and to enable the authorities to trace those who have been infected.

The message must be driven to everyone, and that includes royalty and ministers.

If you have no business or requirement to visit hospitals or crisis centres, just stay at home.

That’s the whole point. This is not the time for publicity.

And there is absolutely no reason to get your wantan mee, mee goreng or chicken rice from the shops. You can have all that you have missed in a fortnight. Use delivery services if you need food.

The government has been extremely lenient by not imposing a lockdown. It does not even want to use the term but instead calls it a movement control order.

But unfortunately we are dealing with Malaysians, who refuse to accept that we have to minimise the spread of the virus. If the numbers do not subside by the last few days of the two weeks, we should brace ourselves for the long haul and tougher actions, as is seen in other countries.

It could lead to a total shutdown or even curfew if the situation does not improve, and the economic losses would be even greater.

If that’s not enough, the annual Cheng Beng Festival, or the Chinese All Souls Day, of tomb sweeping will take place around April 4-6, with crowded praying activities at cemeteries and temple premises.

It involves a lot of travelling, and another round of balik kampung, but the reality is that such activities this year have to be postponed, and Malaysians have no choice but to resort to praying at home. There is no other way.

Again, we cannot allow religious bodies to decide – the Federal Government has to put its foot down, with the support of the Taoist and Chinese leaders.

Filial piety is important but it is more important to express and demonstrate it when these old folks are still alive, and not after they have passed away.

So, Malaysians, please take this first 14 days very seriously. Yes, this is a matter of life and death – literally. This is not a holiday but a shutdown.

Sign of the times: Shelves in Petaling Jaya’s hypermarkets are being cleared of essential items such as cooking oil, canned goods and instant noodles (pic above) and (pic below) KL Sentral is busy as usual in its role as a transportation hub with commuters wearing face masks.

With the sudden spike in the number of Covid-19 cases and two deaths, everyone must now wake up to the fact that the fight involves all of us, and not just the experts, doctors and nurses.

FOR the first time, the Sunday service at the Emmanuel Methodist Church where I attended was called off, but the sermon continued online.

The message from the pastor aptly focused on confusion and anxiety but a reminder to the congregation to step up and to continue placing their trust and hope in God.

I checked the number of viewers and was surprised to find that it was bigger than the average church attendance.

Welcome to modern technology, and certainly, the New Normal in our daily lives as we learn to protect ourselves from the scourge of the killer virus.

It feels different, in the absence of meeting church members, with the loss of fellowship and warmth but as the saying goes, God helps those who help themselves.

If any Malaysian still thinks that we should gather by the thousands or hundreds for religious reasons, as it happened in Iran, then we are not going to fight Covid-19 effectively and intelligently.

On Monday night, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin declared that the entire country will be on a movement control order starting from March 18 to 31 to deal with the rise in Covid-19 cases.

He said the prohibition of movement and mass assembly nationwide would include all religious, sports, social and cultural activities.

“To enforce this prohibition, all places of worship and business premises must be closed except for supermarkets, public markets, grocery stores, and stores selling basic necessities, ” he said in a televised address.

Muhyiddin said that all religious activities in mosques and surau will be suspended in line with the Special Muzakarah Council’s decision on Sunday. He said that this includes Friday prayers.

He called the decision as restricted movement. Certainly, it is not a total lockdown but it was necessary as the number of confirmed cases continue to spike.

No one in Malaysia wants to ban huge religious activities because it is deemed sensitive and the action is eventually handed over to the respective religious authorities – and not the Health Ministry.

Whether it is a religious event, concert or sports event involving a huge number of people, the reality is that such socially irresponsible behaviour poses a risk to all of us as such activities rendered the country’s coronavirus-prevention measures futile.

So, from a double-digit figure, Malaysia has now found itself with 673 confirmed cases as well as two deaths.

If previously Malaysia was worried about the nationalities of our visitors, it looks like we may end up in the opposite – Malaysians being placed under compulsory 14-day quarantine or even banned outside the country because we are from a high risk country.

We now have the dubious record of having the highest number of cases in Southeast Asia.

The Health Ministry has been doing an incredibly good job until last week, when it found itself unable to reach out to religious groups nor able to impose a ban.

The increase has been attributed to the participants at a tabligh event at Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling, where over 14,500 people attended including those from Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The event was held between Feb 27 and March 1.

Then, there was a Hindu religious event at Teluk Bahang, which attracted a reported 30,000 people to the 123-year-old Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple on March 8 but luckily there has been no reported case of Covid-19.

But the virus has also hit churches as well, especially in Singapore and South Korea.

The disease does not pick the status, ethnicity and religion of its victims.

The PM has rightly ordered that Malaysians will be barred from leaving the country and restrictions placed on the entry of all tourists and foreign visitors into Malaysia.

“Malaysians who have returned from overseas have to go for a health check-up and undergo self-quarantine for 14 days, ” he said.

Muhyiddin added that all nurseries, government and private schools, including boarding schools, international schools, tahfiz centres as well as primary, secondary and pre-university education institutions will be closed.

This also includes all public and private universities as well as vocational training centres. Muhyiddin added that government and private premises would be closed except those providing essential services.

These include water, electricity, energy, telecommunications, post, transportation, water services, oil, gas, fuel, broadcasting, financial, banking, health, pharmacy, the Fire and Rescue Department, prisons, ports, airports, security, defence, cleaning, retail and food supplies.

But we have to be ready for the next course of action as two weeks may not be enough. It will be naive to believe the virus will go away within a fortnight.

Malaysians need to learn how to take care of themselves. Let’s brace ourselves for the long haul as the pandemic is not going to go off in weeks.

The Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome, which hit Hong Kong and China the hardest, in 2003 lasted eight months.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has told Singaporeans that the outbreak could be in his country for at least a year.

In these early stages, as in some countries, where the draconian lockdown has been imposed to prevent the spread of it, it would probably work.

But Singapore, which was the earliest hit, has decided to strike a balance between caution and continuing their daily routines, with Singaporeans trying to shift activities outdoors while avoiding crowds, but still going to work and meeting friends and family as before, just with extra precautions such as regularly washing hands.

We can’t close our schools, colleges, factories, malls and our airline flights forever, and Singaporeans, who were also in a frenzy stage after its first case on Jan 23, have grown to accept the fact that life must go on, but accept the end of huge gatherings as the “new normal” in their daily lives.

Malaysia, likewise, cannot be at a standstill.

“Singaporeans did panic when the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition was raised to the ‘Orange’ level on Feb 7, sweeping daily necessities off supermarket shelves. And for a few weeks, the worry seemed justified because Singapore had some of the highest infection numbers outside China

“But as the weeks bore on, with South Korea and Italy seeing sudden spikes – Italy went from one case on Feb 20 to more than 15,000 in three weeks – and the disease spreading to more than 100 countries, Singapore’s situation started to look tame by comparison, ” the South China Morning Post reported.

It reported that life returned to normal, at even nightspots, with crowds dancing until the wee hours of the morning with “the only difference between now and before Covid-19 hit the city state: the hand soap in the washroom runs out twice as fast”.

The island republic’s latest cluster reportedly sprang from a private dinner at the recreational club SAFRA Jurong, where one infected person spread the disease to 18 others, with the cluster eventually growing to 40 cases. A separate cluster traced to the Wizlearn Technologies offices in Science Park also started from staff who went to work sick.

The SCMP reported that Singapore rolled out social distancing measures such as telling organisers to cancel or postpone ticketed events with more than 250 people and are prepared to close schools if the number of cases surge while companies were encouraged to allow employees to work from home or stagger work hours.

“The strategy follows a similar tack implemented in Hong Kong, where the authorities have closed schools since the Lunar New Year break began in late January and advised citizens to keep a safe distance from one another in public spaces.”

The coming weeks will be extremely crucial for Malaysia as we track down the over 14,000 people who attended the tabligh gathering with the numbers of confirmed almost certain to climb.

The Health Ministry did a superb job in tackling the numbers but as the numbers jumped suddenly, everyone must now wake up to the fact that the fight involves all of us, and not just the experts, doctors and nurses.

It will be a long two weeks but let’s get ourselves psyched that the fight may just continue until the end of the year.