No ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy to combat Covid-19; Masidi responds to Jomo’s statement

KOTA KINABALU: There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to combat the Covid-19 virus, says Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

The state minister tasked with coordinating Sabah's efforts to fight Covid-19 said this in response to Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) research adviser Jomo Kwame Sundaram, who questioned Malaysia’s MCO as the best option to control the pandemic.

The senior politician and former Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, believed that the Health Ministry’s (MoH) strategy is indeed working.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) too has commended Malaysia as having the right strategy.

“I believe the Health Ministry's strategy is working. In fact, there are constant adjustments to the MCO; for example conditional MCO and enhanced MCO to suit current situations, ” he said when contacted.

Jomo had said over the weekend at the "Budget 2021: Moving Towards Recovery" online forum organised by International Islamic University Malaysia that other nations such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, India and China managed to continue fighting the virus without movement restrictions or lockdowns.

“Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China may not be an ‘apple-to-apple’ comparison to our country, as these countries have immense financial resources at their disposal.We will just have to be patient to see results while fully complying with all the SOPs, ” said Masidi.

On Jomo’s suggestion that the government should look into using television or radio instead of depending heavily on online learning for students to continue their studies during the pandemic, Masidi said any other platforms are welcomed for consideration.

“Any medium that can bridge the communication gap is welcomed while works to upgrade Internet penetration are in progress. The TV was an important educational tool in the 70s and 80s.

“The only issue is whether it’s suitable to current education modules, which somehow are more interactive, ” added Masidi, acknowledging the issue of access to laptop devices and the Internet.