Lessons to learn: While Khairy, says the government is now more prepared for future outbreaks,
PETALING JAYA: Today marks the fifth year since Covid-19 hit Malaysia and the country’s healthcare “generals” who fought the unseen enemy have called on Malaysians to pass the knowledge on how we dealt with the pandemic for the benefit of future generations.
Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia and the global community went through a traumatic experience during that period.
The first cases of Covid-19, which was known as the novel coronavirus then, were detected in Malaysia on Jan 25, 2020.
“Unfortunately, everyone wanted to forget what had happened rather than learn from it, as many of us wanted to just move on.
“But we certainly learnt a lot in terms of what worked and what didn’t work,” he said in an interview.
Recalling his time as the health minister, Khairy said the most challenging part was to create a “playbook” on dealing with Covid-19 from scratch.
“We (the health authorities) did not have anything and we were constantly trying to get the best practices globally.”
Khairy said initially he was not involved in the pandemic management, only in vaccine strategy and its implementation.
But he was later placed in charge of managing the pandemic when he moved to the Health Ministry in August 2021.
“Another challenging moment was to start from scratch. Does the movement control order work or does opening or closing industries work?
“We also needed to find strategies to encourage vaccination, of which we initially did not have the knowledge,” he added.
Asked whether Malaysia is ready to face a similar situation, Khairy said the government is now more prepared for future outbreaks.
“We have all the toolkits and they have now been written. I am part of the team that prepared the know-how. And if anything happens, I believe we have a wealth of experience to bank on.
“I think we are prepared to ensure that all the knowledge and preparations that we have created will be passed down to the new generation of health officials,” he said.
Asked how he handled the misinformation and stigma over Covid-19, Khairy said he made sure the government had clear and swift communications with the public.
“I think we did quite well, and we went to social media with a lot of infographics. And as far as communication is concerned, I think we did well to pre-empt whatever was on social media,” he said.
Former Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who led the country’s battle against the coronavirus, said the pandemic tested the country’s resilience and unity.
He said today marks the fifth year since the health authorities diagnosed the first case of Covid-19 in Malaysia.
“Covid-19 taught us that health security is indeed national security,” said Dr Noor Hisham, who was also known as the face of the country’s battle against Covid-19.
“The pandemic tested our resilience and unity like never before. We need to knock down the ‘walls’ between the public and private sectors and come together to strengthen our health system locally, regionally and globally,” he added.
Dr Noor Hisham said Malaysians should not forget the spirit of unity and togetherness that they forged during that difficult period.
“Let us not forget the unity that carried us through in embracing the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. Let us not forget the spirit of togetherness and community empowerment as well as the lives that were lost and those suffering from long Covid,” he said.
“Let’s not forget the sacrifices of our frontliners and how they worked tirelessly to contain the virus.”
He said the country must continue to strengthen the healthcare system and invest in human resources.
“We must work together to achieve universal health coverage and together, we can overcome all obstacles and make a big difference in healthcare,” he added.
Dr Noor Hisham said the pandemic was a stark reminder of the divide among countries without universal healthcare, those who can afford healthcare, and those who cannot.
As the Asean Chair, Malaysia can lead the region to create a platform for better prevention, preparedness and response during health emergencies, he said.
“This is the time for us to repair the roof when the sun is shining.
“My greatest fear is that the people and governments forget what we have learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic and worse, not invest in their health and healthcare system,” said Dr Noor Hisham.