A sterner MCO is the best policy

A sterner MCO policy is what's needed reckons this letter writer. — RONNIE CHIN/The Star

The Malaysian government extended the initial two-week movement control order (MCO) period a further two weeks until April 14 to reduce the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19 – however, some people are still not treating this outbreak with utmost seriousness, which is very upsetting.

We already lost the first three days: on the first day, there was only 60% compliance with the MCO, followed by 70% on the second day and 80% on the third day, when 100% of the population should have been observing it from Day One. According to Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, as at April 2, over 4,000 people had been arrested by the police for non-compliance. If this lack of 100% support continues, we should be prepared for a long home stay, not at a resort but at home.

The MCO was implemented on the advice of experts. We may have our views about its feasibility or its implementation – but we are not experts at the end of the day. Even if we are, for example, a medical doctor knowledgeable about infectious diseases, individual viewpoints cannot invalidate or substitute for consensus or collective thinking. There is always wisdom to be had in numbers.