Unity and the spirit of Raya

THE highways are jammed, celebrations are ongoing, children are at play and thousands are out enjoying the cool of the malls.

What a difference it is from six years ago.

On that fateful March day in 2020, then Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin came on TV to make a sombre announcement. The first Movement Control Order (MCO) was in place – for two weeks from March 18 to March 31.

A day earlier, the country had seen its first Covid-19 fatality. It was a time of tragedy, of despair and pain. It was also a time when unity and togetherness triumphed over deep, dark adversity.

From March 18 until the MCO was finally lifted in stages between August 2021 and January 2022, some 30,000 people died of the virus while the government had to foot a bill of more than RM5bil for the medicines, quarantine centres and vaccinations.

The MCO really came as a shock. I had been scheduled to fly to India on March 19 for medical treatment, but that had to be called off.

There were other more unpleasant experiences. One day, a friend, Selva, called me from a quarantine centre in mainland Penang. He was his usual jovial self. He wanted to be moved to a centre on the island as another friend – his only buddy in the centre – had been discharged that day.

The next day, I received another call. Selva had died. One day, he was joking, the next he was gone. I could not attend his funeral, but other friends livestreamed it.

My father-in-law also died, in late October, but not of Covid-19. We were in Petaling Jaya but he had wanted to be laid to rest in our hometown in Penang.

We had to get permission from the cops to fulfil his wish – and had probably the best drive home ever.

With the hearse in the lead, we headed northwards at just about midnight. There was not a car in sight on either side, all the rest and recreation areas were closed, and it was just us on the North-South Expressway. It was almost eerie.

The number of people at the funeral had to be limited. Some relatives had to leave before others could be allowed in to pay their respects.

Fourteen days later, there were prayers to be held, so none of us could return to the Klang Valley in the interim. And, it was also Deepavali.

Instead of celebrating Deepavali, we had prayers – and the food came from a famous nasi kandar stall.

We were lucky. There were many who could not find food. With thousands of jobs lost, there were those who had no money to feed their families. Government aid was not as forthcoming as it should have been.

The suicide rate spiked. There were about 1,130 suicides in 2021, double the number in 2020, with many taking their own lives rather than starve. The young suffered, too.

Between January 2019 and May 2021, 872 young people died by suicide, with 51% being teenagers aged 15 to 18.

But even in tragedy, there was redemption. The people of Malaysia banded together, providing food and other necessities to those in need. The white flag campaign was in full flow.

Supermarkets, grocery stores, NGOs and petrol stations all set up food banks to help. It was a show of the true Malaysian spirit.

We were not about to let a microscopic virus bring us to our knees.

Yet, it was not all gloom and doom. The pandemic actually came as good news for some – the rubber glove and face mask makers.

The top four in the business – Top Glove, Hartalega Holdings, Kossan Rubber Industries and Supermax Corporation – all made huge profits.

Top Glove, for one, recorded historic earnings with profit of RM7.87bil and revenue of RM16.4bil in 2021.

Just days ago, Top Glove declared revenue of RM1bil for the most recent quarter, an estimated annual total of RM4bil.

To be fair, all four companies gave back to society. They contributed a total of RM400mil to the Covid-19 disaster fund.

The real story in all this is that we Malaysians can stand together, shoulder to shoulder as one and take on any adversity.

Covid-19 was a killer, but it was a killer we united to fight against. Now, as the nation celebrates Hari Raya Aidilfitri, there is a new virus in our midst – disunity and hatred. It’s a virus that could destroy us as a nation.

We have to take the lessons of Covid-19, and Hari Raya, to overcome this adversity, too. Every Hari Raya, there is this lovely morning ritual.

That’s when everyone greets each other, “bersalam” and seeks forgiveness for any infractions over the last year.

“Maaf, zahir dan batin” is the Hari Raya motto. Past transgressions are forgiven, and a new, happier future is forged.

To all Muslims in Malaysia, Selamat Hari Raya. Let’s hope we can forge a new, happier, more united tomorrow.