IT is too early to ask what Malaysia’s legacy will be in its battle with Covid-19 as we are still very much in the throes of a life-changing pandemic.
In documenting and studying the various impacts it has on the nation, we are in a better position to determine the probable endgame ahead of us.
From the medical approaches to contain the contagion to the various government measures to cushion the economic impact, we have seen commendable starts as well as the dropping of the baton midway.
Right off the bat, we earned international praise for our efforts in curbing the spread of the virus only to see missteps that are blowing up right in our faces. Concerns raised over the open defiance of standard operating procedures by people holding high office and justified objections to the Sabah state election were brushed aside.
The ensuing political imbroglios after the Sheraton Move, suspension of Parliament, re-imposition of the movement control order and the declaration of Emergency beg the need for honest introspection.
As policy expert and political analyst Dr Lim Teck Ghee puts it, political infighting has been intense and continuous. This leads to political instability that adversely affects our economy as foreign investors are treading carefully.
Local investors too are cautious about how much money they are putting back into the economy, he pointed out.
On the socio-economic front, rising unemployment and
under-employment are on the rise despite the rolling out of Prihatin 1.0 and 2.0, Penjana and now Permai.
The passing of Budget 2021 became more important than its effectiveness in grappling with the fallout of the pandemic.
Despite a slew of economic packages to help individuals and businesses fend off the impact of Covid-19, the needs of the B40 have not been addressed adequately.
Instead, we are looking at a growing urban poor population that requires us to re-look our socio-economic categories. The most vulnerable among them are effectively left to fend for themselves as direct aid has failed to reach the targets.
The strength of our social safety net is being tested with MCO 2.0 where we are looking at RM600 million losses daily.
Failure to critically look at where we are now and correcting our missteps will undoubtedly lead us to a state where we don’t want to be.
The country’s legacy in this colossal challenge should be how well the government has helped the common man to survive these trying times.
