Policy Failure - You Hukum Us, We Hukum You
‘The move to increase the fines for violating the standard operating procedures (SOP) to RM10,000 for individual and RM50,000 for companies, reflects the government’s seriousness in controlling the Covid.19 situation in the country’…quote Dato Sim Kiang Chiok.
Sim Kiang Chiok, branch chairman of SHEDA was responding to the decision by the government to increase the fines for breaching the SOPs for Covid.19 effective the 11th March 2021.
https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/mco-sop-violators-face-rm10000-fine-march-11-284819
While we may agree that the new fines structure probably is indicative of the desire of the government to control the pandemic in Malaysia, it would be more accurate to describe it as a sign of desperation on the part of the government. And that desperation is the result of policies failures or the failure to firmly follow-up on the implementation of the policies crafted to contain and eradicate the Covid.19 in Malaysia.
It is quite clear to Malaysians that several measures instituted to control the pandemic were rendered ineffective by decisions motivated by political concerns rather than medical and health. And so today, we see no signs of the pandemic retreating. Instead we see an increasing Covid.19 related death toll. On Friday the 26th Feb 2021 there were 11 new Covid.19 related deaths, bringing the overall total to 1111. Why the emphasis on death toll? It is because death toll or percentage of death is more significant in reflecting the impact of the Covid.19 pandemic.
Could the Malaysian government have done better in the efforts to control and mitigate the pandemic in the country?
Before the 17th March 2021, the Covid.19 positive figures were generally and comparatively low. On the 5th March 2020 for example the figure was only 5 and on the13th March 2020 it was 39. On the 2nd week of March 2020 however it became apparent that the cluster that formed from a religious gathering at a mosque in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur was fast developing into a super spreader. Consequently, on the 18th March 2020, the first movement control order (MCO) came into effect. By 19 May, the Malaysian Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah had confirmed that 48% of the country's COVID-19 cases (3,347) were linked to the Kuala Lumpur Tablighi Jamaat (Sri Petaling mosque) cluster. Additionally, nearly 10% of attendees were overseas visitors, causing COVID-19 to spread to other countries in Southeast Asia.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1110785/malaysia-covid-19-daily-cases/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Tablighi_Jamaat_COVID-19_hotspot_in_Malaysia.
After 3 extensions to the MCO the figures went down to only 7 on the 9th June 2020. On the 8th July 2020, the Sri Petaling cluster was reported as ended. The MCO was clearly effective in breaking the chain of the spread of the virus.
How did Malaysia went back to recording a breathtaking figure of 5728 new positive cases and 13 deaths on the 31st Jan 2021 when before, ie. Up to the 10th June 2020 Malaysia performances was commendable? Put it bluntly and briefly, the strong political will that was needed to carry through the plan successfully was missing from the formula. Malaysians began to observe that there were 2 sets of laws, 1 for the ordinary rakyat and 1 for the elite who walked the corridor of power. A minister returning from an overseas trip failed to undergo mandatory quarantine. He eventually escaped with a small fine of RM1000.
Cabinet ministers returning from any official visit abroad were only required to undergo observation for three days or undergo surveillance when the stated policy very clearly requires 14 days of home quarantine.
Prior to 9th Jan 2021, Air Asia (and other airlines) flights to Sibu airport were not restricted and because there were not enough quarantine facilities in Sibu, entry into Sibu was not sufficiently monitored and regulated. To compound the problems caused by the unrestricted flights to Sibu, thousands of work related travel permits were issued in Sibu, effectively and completely nullifying the movement control orders instituted to break the chain.
On the 12th January 2021, the Yang DiPertuan Agung declared an emergency, supposedly to enable the government to better manage the pandemic and this while the several MCOs at different places were still in effect. Other than the restrictions on religious gatherings, nothing else seems to change and the pandemic continue to show no signs of retreating at all.
In the latest show of indecisiveness and lack of political will, a minister in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) cabinet ‘clashed’ with the prime minister over how to continue with teaching and learning in Malaysia’s schools in 2021.
On the 17th Feb 2021, PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin launched the DidikTV KPM, a dedicated television channel intended to facilitate learning and teaching during the pandemic. Two days later the Minister of Education announced that all schools will reopen in March 2021. Meanwhile, over in Sarawak, a cluster called the Sungai Bakong cluster was evolving and registering increasing Covid.19 positive cases. For those who are not sufficiently informed, this cluster developed from a students’ hostel in SMK Meradong, Bintangor. What was this minister thinking about? Was he desirous of seeing every schools in Malaysia turning into Covid.19 clusters?
https://www.pmo.gov.my/2021/02/pm-launches-education-tv-channel-didiktv-kpm/
For anyone who has the time to reflect on what had transpired in Malaysia, it will quickly become clear that for the most part, blame for the current state of Covid.19 pandemic in Malaysia lies squarely with the federal government. In the case of Sarawak, the GPS state government is also responsible for the ineffectiveness of the measures instituted so far. Take for example the case of the reopening of schools and the 14,000 plus travel permits issued in Sibu. Why did they not use the autonomous power which they claim to have to over-rule the decision made? Why did they wait almost 2 weeks before they announced that schools in Covid.19 critical areas will remain close for the time being? We understand that the power you have is derived from the people aka votes banks and therefore you must wait for sufficient number of voters to protest first. But it is precisely this kind of politically motivated decision that is causing the Covid.19 to continue ravaging Sarawak and its people.
In all the success stories in the containment of the Covid.19 pandemic in countries around the world, 3 strategies stand out: Sharp reduction in the flow of people through strict lockdowns, aggressive or mass testing of the population and disinfection of all public facilities. Countries like Taiwan, American Samoa, New Zealand South Korea and Brunei achieved enviable success by ‘locking down’ their country and quickly doing mass screening. Why did the GPS government of Sarawak failed to do that. Sarawak is on an island, the same island where Brunei is situated and locking up our borders would have been relatively easier.
Now the government is talking about fines that only politicians and cabinet members can afford to punish the rakyat when the failure to mitigate and contain Covid.19 resulted from their own incompetence. Well, it is the rakyat who will do the punishing and the rakyat must now mete out the ‘fines’ on the government, not the other way round. It is not a capable government that we have and they must be shown the exit.
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