Everyone must adhere to SOP

More should be done to kill off public scepticism over different treatments in enforcing quarantine.

ACROSS social media, the level of anger among Malaysians directed towards the political class, seen to be a primary source of recent infections, has been trending.

The Prime Minister, in his Facebook Live statement on Oct 6, said that many of the cases in Sabah originated from undocumented migrants, who, being placed in detention centres, spread the virus to other detainees.

But earlier stories of politicians not following the standard operating procedure had already triggered public disgust.

In particular, at a time when ordinary members of the public were being fined for breaching rules, one minister was alleged to have violated more serious quarantine rulings after returning from abroad.

This was contrasted against the 14-day quarantine completed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong back in April after Istana Negara staff tested positive for the virus.

Of course, those who are politically partisan will find ways to shift blame away from themselves.

In relation to the Sabah infections, fault has been placed on the former chief minister for requesting the election, the governor for agreeing to it and the opposition for provoking one in the first place.

Yet, while such expressions of disgust against politicians (and their attempts to shift blame in a partisan manner) are understandable, it’s also important to remember the more noble justifications for having elections, and to entertain the possibility that for some of those seeking office, these purer intentions could conceivably have been present.

In the event, citizens had to weigh their future in terms of the specific threat of Covid-19, or the more multi-faceted policy implications (including those of public health) of the representatives they would elect to their state assembly and the government formed therefrom, aside from the six nominated members unique to Sabah.

Others involved in the process included Election Commission personnel working to ensure that voting went smoothly with physical distancing, temperature checks and hand sanitising being practised.

Although the numbers of Covid-19 cases seem frighteningly high, the official line is that the majority are isolated, so there is no need to return to a more restrictive version of the movement control order (MCO).

Still, I have observed that people have reverted to greater caution on their own.

On my part, I have turned as many meetings as possible into online ones while ensuring that larger events saw even more strict adherence to the standard operating procedure.

For the World Squash Day event hosted by the Negri Sembilan Squash Association (of which I am president) at Seri Menanti, for instance, we obtained rigorous medical advice, allowed only half the capacity of the venue, verified that every attendee had no links to any of the clusters and had masks being worn at all times except while playing on court.

And no politicians were present.

While some might decry the need for any large events at all, for many communities, and for certain momentous family events, the memories gained from being physically present at rare opportunities for joy are worth the calculated risks involved.

Treading this fine line (and being criticised for being on the wrong side) will be a feature of life for the foreseeable future, as promising news on a vaccine seems to have slowed.

In the meantime, the trend of blaming politicians for failing to contain the coronavirus, or flagrantly breaching their own rules, will continue worldwide.

President Donald Trump is now the world’s most senior politician to contract Covid-19 and reactions around that have served to polarise sections of the United States of America further in the run-up to the presidential election less than a month away.

These include the president’s trademark defiant language and action, such as the drive-by to greet supporters outside the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, even as media outlets highlight the experimental nature of the treatments he supposedly received and opine that most people would have been required to stay in hospital for longer.

Here, the social media response to the Prime Minister’s assertion that there are no double standards in the enforcement of quarantine was met with degrees of scepticism.

It will take much more from the authorities, perhaps a prosecution, to raise confidence in the proper behaviour of politicians.

That must occur alongside heeding the urging of the Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to “not cry over spilt milk”, value the efforts of our frontliners and unite against the resurgent common enemy.

Tunku Zain Al’ Abidin is founding president of Ideas. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.