WALKING through Little India in George Town after having weekend brunch at the neighbourhood kopitiam, I passed old uncles chatting beside the curb. Across the street, men and women basked around majestic heritage trees adorned with strings of colourful chrysanthemums.
Despite the presence of physical distance and masks, a sense of intimacy filled the air. Watching the town slowly come to life after strict the movement control order (MCO) stirred a quiet pleasure, like witnessing a desert bloom after a rainstorm.
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Dr Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah
Dr Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah is an honorary fellow at Macfarlane Burnet Institute (Melbourne, Australia) and an alum of the Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia. She is active in science communication and infectious disease biomedical research. She was the first female Asian champion of FameLab, the world’s longest running science communication competition, in 2018. The writer’s views are her own.
