From Mohamed Khaled Nordin
It has been a year since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic that has devastated the lives of millions, leaving countries in shambles. Malaysia and its people are no exception.
Soon, in March, we will have spent one year since the first MCO and yet, our situation has not changed much compared with the beginning of the MCO. Thousands of citizens are forced to take up odd-jobs to compensate for the pay cuts they have taken, and many more are struggling to put food on the table as the government-issued lockdown becomes more permanent than the promised temporary solution to contain the virus.
While health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has done a tremendous job and should be commended, he shouldn’t be tied down to confront the Covid-19 issue by himself. There are other issues that require just as much attention.
The pandemic has transcended beyond a health crisis to a full-scale national crisis. A new general with fresh ideas and strategy is needed to lead an inter-ministry, multi-department, and multi-agency team to respond swiftly to the fast-changing nature of the pandemic.
Our health and medical institutions are barely able to cope. Multiple hospitals have been dedicated to serving Covid-19 patients and our capacity is almost full. Our frontliners are overworked and under-compensated. We would risk our medical institution collapsing if we were to continue any further without having a more sustainable plan.
Our resilience has been put to the test. The economy is grinding to a halt, the education system has failed our students, and welfare institutions are unable to protect everyone. We need to consider drastic structural and institutional reforms.
The government is doing its best, but without a proper chief in command to band all parties together, all the efforts would not produce sustainable and impactful change.
While the atmosphere has been bleak, we have been treated to moments of joy and hope once every now and then. We see groups of individuals and communities reach out to those who are more vulnerable to help ease their sufferings, reminding us that Malaysians are indeed united, caring, and loving towards one another.
However, we must be careful to not develop an over-reliance on charity, and start drawing up plans to tackle the root of the issue. It is extremely inspiring to see charity work helping out the less fortunate, but equally worrying to see people looking out for them rather than our government.
Praise should be given where it’s due. The health director-general has been working tirelessly to keep Malaysia from sinking. Nonetheless, this situation has evolved to be a multifaceted issue beyond his power.
What we need is a new general, not to replace the role of the health director-general, but one that will take up the mantle to lead an inter-ministerial collective effort to face this crisis. The new general will focus on combating Covid-19 and coordinating response on all fronts including health, safety, welfare and economy.
It is time for us to not treat this as a health crisis, but a national issue. Ministries can no longer work in silo. We need a new czar for our renewed approach to combat Covid-19.
Mohamed Khaled Nordin is an Umno vice-president.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.