3 lessons from dealing with the pandemic

Many will soon reach the limits of their endeavours since Covid-19 hit our shores in January. Why? First, it has been movement control orders, standard operating procedures, self-quarantines, activity protocols, testing and staying at home.

Second, the command-and-control mechanism carried out with good intentions have had a downside on people. Curtailed business hours and reduction in the number of customers have resulted in lower income for businesses.

Small businesses are thinking of gulung tikar (bankruptcy). The government imposed a moratorium on loans to help people.

Third, people are finding it difficult to manage their anxieties and make ends meet.

Except for finding a vaccine, people’s biggest concerns are the length of the outbreak, the trauma on children and the elderly, and the adjustment needed when life returns to normal.

We can take three lessons from our experiences in dealing with the pandemic.

ACCEPT the new normal. We can embrace technology and its applications and, at the same time, ensure that our spiritual selves remain intact. Our values too will need a technological leap forward.

WE will have to become good friends with the use of data in future decisions.

As the world becomes smaller due to the use of technology, our lives will be transformed in many ways: small will become beautiful again; we will spend less, our cities will become more manageable, and we will waste less and save more.

RESPECT the principle of the invincibility of leadership, deferring to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the prime minister and the government. Disrespecting this principle will spell disaster for the country.

DR AZHARI-KARIM
Former ambassador
Kuala Lumpur