The past few days have been unsettling for Malaysians following the sudden increase of COVID-19 cases. It significantly jumped from a base of 25 cases to above 100 within 9 days. Days ahead are uncertain as the numbers keeps on increasing with no sign of this global calamity slowing down.
In Malaysia particularly, the COVID-19 ‘panic-demic’ (as it is yet to be declared pandemic despite over hundred thousand cases infected worldwide – higher than SARS, MERS or Ebola in the recent years) was against a backdrop of a political ‘turnover’ that caught everyone by surprise, which have brought to where it is today; the announcement of the new cabinet line up by Malaysia’s 8th Prime Minister – 9 days after he is elected.
There are many noises going around on both of these hot topics, with the former evolving around individual safety especially those in the Klang Valley while the latter involving bitterness and unhappiness of groups of people.
From this point onwards, the discussion will not be about whether whatever has happened is right or wrong because everyone has their preferences. But the fact of the matter is – it has happened and as a Muslim, I fall back to the foundational belief that everything happens for a reason – even if we can’t see it yet.
I do personally feel these are trying times destined to happen for some undisclosed reason by the Almighty, where the country (and of course the world) is tested to various degrees with COVID-19 hitting the heart of country’s social and economic center – it’s time for us to put egos aside and carefully deal with the matters at hand.
It’s also time for us to take a step back, in our personal capacities and at the most individual and personal level, to be considerate and responsible for our actions. The longer we allow our feelings to get in the way, the longer it takes for us to recover, the worse impact it has on the people on the street. Let there be truce, if needed for the betterment of the people.
The health scare is real and no one should take it lightly. Be considerate and responsible if you’ve travelled around or had close contacts with high risks individuals. Take the initiative and effort to continuously keep yourself clean to minimize risks to yourself and others.
While some of us may think our body can withstand the virus threat (which probably is true if you are super fit) that even if we were to contract the virus we would likely recover, there are people out there who are more vulnerable than us, or their kids or parents who are more vulnerable than us. Are we willing to take the responsibility in case anything happens to them because of our irresponsible actions?
And while everyone’s eyes are on the stock market movement, indicating the economic condition of the country, the impact to the people on the street is real. We hear companies asking staff to go on unpaid leave, salaries cut by half, shops having lesser visitors (imagine those small sundry shops who had only made enough to survive before), drop in demands for Grab and other car hailing drivers – its their livelihood at stake. These mainly involves the bottom half of the society, who have been working hard to just make ends meet.
So – again, while I cannot influence the whole world or powerful people at the top of the system, the only thing I can do is to broadcast a message for individuals like you and me, to be responsible and considerate in our actions.
Hopefully, with enough momentum from the ground, it will spiral up to the top across the different group of societies, so that at this difficult time, the needs of the people who matters the most are rightfully taken care of.
May Allah help and guide us through these challenging times ahead.