AS we go into the third phase of the MCO (movement control order), we are facing an unprecedented and hard time. But this Covid-19 crisis is teaching us many lessons that cannot be learnt inside a classroom. Let me share some of my personal experiences that underlines this.Recently, I was at my local supermarket queueing up for a good hour to pick up groceries. Ahead of me was an elderly gentlemen, probably in his 70s. When a staff member approached him and kindly said he need not queue and could enter the shop, he replied that though he is a senior citizen, he wanted to show that he did not need special treatment. This drew a thunderous round of applause from the crowd. Unbelievable – after all, we Malaysians are mostly not accustomed to queueing at all much less doing it so patiently.
Once I got inside, I headed straight to the bread section where I noticed there were only two loaves left. The woman ahead of me picked up one loaf and looked back at me as though asking if I wanted the other loaf, which I did. I have seldom seen this before, as people are generally selfish. Wow, I thought, this was a great act and a good lesson in generosity and thoughtfulness.
