A year into the life under new normal

The first Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed by the government of Malaysia to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic was announced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia on 16 March 2020. It was to commence on 18 March 2020 and would be in force for two weeks ending on 31 March 2020. This very first lockdown rule was something unprecedented and caused confusion, anxiety and loss of livelihood.

When it was announced, many people have the view that two weeks of restrictions would not cut it. The virus is spreading too fast and drastic measures are needed. Indeed, what started as 14-days was later extended for another fortnight and as we continue to fight the war, the MCO was constantly extended under its various forms or derivations. We are now one year into the life of the so-called new normal, which to my mind, is not something I would like to make normal for any length of time.

Looking back at the past twelve months, the following are some of my observations which I'm putting down in writing, perhaps as interesting future reading when we do get to return to real normalcy.

1. Seriousness of a plague

When we read of disease outbreaks that have occurred in history, it seldom triggers any alarm in our minds on how serious it could be.

The Black Death, considered the most fatal pandemic in human history, occurred over a period of eight years from 1346 to 1353. The bubonic plague caused deaths estimated in the regions of 75 to 200 million people. It affected countries in Europe, Central Asia and North Africa. But since it happened so many years ago and in places so far away, why worry right?

Okay then. Closer to home and in more recent times, the Nipah Virus outbreak in peninsular Malaysia occurred from September 1998 to May 1999. There were 265 confirmed cases of infection and 105 deaths. The other significant impact was huge losses to the swine-rearing industry when more than a million pigs were culled. Again, since it happened over a short period of time and caused a relatively low number of casualties, why worry right?

Well now, we shall not be taking contagious diseases so lightly anymore. The covid-19 virus has made sure of that.

2. Almost total shutdown of economic and social activity

Only essential services are allowed to operate. What are these? Utility companies like electricity, water supply and telecommunication services. Provision stores and supermarkets are allowed to open, subject to a limit on the number of customers and shorter operation hours.

Schools and offices are closed. No sporting events or any form of large social gathering. No praying at mosques or any places of worship. No wedding receptions. Restaurants shall sell food and drink items for take-away consumption only. No overseas travel. No crossing of state borders. Indeed there so many things that were not allowed that staying at home became the catchphrase. To say it was a shock is an understatement.

The announcement of the MCO was made two days before it was to come into effect. Despite assurances from the PM that essential daily supplies are adequate, there was panic buying all over the country. I had dropped by a Tesco supermarket one day before the lockdown and noted the almost empty shelves caused by a rush of shoppers the day before. I wrote about it in this post -> Panic buying.

3. Standard Operating Procedures

With the imposition of restrictions, the government regularly issued guides on what can and cannot be done. These guides, named as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), can somewhat be divided into two categories which I shall call (a) Fixed rules and (b) Fluid rules.

Fixed rules refer to the SOPs that more or less remain constant since the start of MCO. These include the scanning of body temperature before entering a premise, wearing face masks, adhere to social distancing and practice regular hygiene (washing hands and sanitizing).

Fluid rules are those that change as and when the situation of any particular state or district also changes based on the number of infected cases. The restrictions would then change in line with the category of MCO that is applied (RMCO - Recovery MCO, CMCO - Conditional MCO, EMCO - Enhanced MCO). There were rules regarding the number of people allowed to travel in the same car, the distance one is allowed to travel from home, the number of people sitting at the same table when dining in a restaurant, the number of days to be quarantined, the number of people allowed to congregate in a mosque. Some of these rules change so often that many become confused. What makes it worse is when enforcement authorities are not consistent in applying these rules.

Initially, certain SOPs were just guidelines intended as measures for voluntary compliance. Over the past twelve months, some of these have become law. Failing to comply would result in fines or legal punishment.

Take the example of wearing face masks. I still remember the Senior Minister of Defence (in his role as National Security Council chairman) clarifying in one of his press briefings, that compulsory wearing of face mask apply when one is in a public place with many other people (example: traveling in public transport). It is not required if one is not in a crowded location such as in one's car or in a public park. Nowadays, it seems that a face mask is mandatory once you step out in the public domain. Failure to do so could mean being slapped with compounds by the enforcement authority. Even not properly wearing the mask could be reason for being fined. We have read reports of individuals being fined by the police for mere mistakes as not wearing a mask after getting out of the car or wearing the mask under the chin.

I do understand that rules are put in place so that we can all play our part to tackle and eradicate the pandemic. My main gripe is in the unclear regulations and inconsistent enforcement. We have read many news reports of politicians being able to travel overseas or cross state borders and meeting large groups of people where social distancing measures are not observed. Yet these politicians get away scot-free or are only fined after public pressure. Double standards.

Social distancing while queueing.
Reminds me of a song by The Police - Don't stand so close to me

4. Closure of mosques

I wish to record something relating to this subject here, as a reminder in some distant future that there was once a time when the faithful were prevented from performing worship at a place where it is supposed to be.

I do not dispute that not allowing congregational prayers at mosques was a necessary step. However, I believe it is reasonable to allow certain sections of the mosque be made available to individuals such as travelers, lorry drivers, food-delivery riders and policemen on roadblock duty to perform their prayers. The main prayer hall of the mosque can be closed, no problem. At least allow some space on the verandah or corridors. Such spaces can be properly marked to ensure no close standing if need be. At the very least, do not lock the gates during the daytime. It is not a huge thing to ask and the risks are arguable.

During the early days of the MCO, I had tried to forward this suggestion to the Minister-in-charge of Islamic Affairs via a message on his Facebook page. After three attempts, I got a response from someone who I assume is a page administrator but the reply was disappointing. I had also shared the suggestion on my own Facebook page in addition to voicing it to an alumni Whatsapp group. Some friends who know the Minister personally had remarked that they would forward my suggestion to him.

After months of closure, mosques were open for congregational prayers but subject to very strict SOPs. Apart from the fixed SOPs mentioned earlier, individuals who come to the mosque must bring their own prayer mat, done the ablution rites at home and shall stand in prayer at least one metre away from each other. In other words, the traditional requirement of the close (shoulder-to-shoulder) and straight prayer line (in Malay known as rapatkan saf) cannot be implemented. This particular rule has seen continuous heated debate among Muslim scholars until today.

At first, when the mosques were allowed to open under RMCO category, only a small number of people were allowed to attend. For the weekly Friday prayers, only 40 persons were allowed. This was later increased to one-third the capacity of the mosque and controlled on a first-come-first-served basis. With such reduced capacity, foreigners were barred from attending. I once was able to attend Friday prayers at a mosque in Kota Damansara, Selangor where they employed a ticket-numbering system to keep count of the number of attendees. It was where I saw the security guard deny entry to certain persons who looked like they were Indonesians or Bangladeshis. A sad situation indeed. Sad for the security guard who had to spot persons who do not look like locals and sad for the Muslim foreigners who just wanted the chance to perform an obligation.

Main prayer hall of Masjid Kota Damansara

Which now brings me to the final bit of story that I wish to share. For the past year under the various MCO categories, I have performed Friday prayers (when allowed) at Masjid Tun Hussein Onn at Larkin in Johor Bahru, other than the single occasion in Kota Damansara mentioned earlier. This mosque is not the nearest to my home and also not my regular Friday prayer venue prior to Covid-19.

When Friday prayers were first allowed at reduced attendance of 40 persons, I had tried to attend at the two mosques nearest to where I stay. Entry was controlled at the gate. Only those on a pre-selected list of names were able to enter. Of course, I was turned down. Trying to be in a list of 40 persons from a kampung of a few thousand residents is a very slim chance indeed. Priority would go to the mosque committee members for sure. Totally understandable. But I did not give up. I drove to another mosque located about 3km away in a neighbouring kampung.

Masjid Tun Hussein Onn is quite a large mosque and relatively recently built. Apart from the main prayer hall, it has a wide expanse of corridors and verandah which are unlocked. It also has a concrete gazebo that would make for a good prayer spot as well. This mosque is only fenced and gated at the front boundary that adjoins the main road. The rear perimeter is bounded by a large monsoon drain and external car park. Access from the car park to the mosque is by way of two small pedestrian bridges that are not gated. Only temporary red/white tapes were tied across the entrance, so it was a case of simply ducking under the tapes to gain entry. Technically a wrong thing to do but I took my chance. I was prepared to be turned away. Praise the Almighty, there was no-one to turn me back.

I went to the empty gazebo, placed my prayer mat on the clean floor and prayed. Terubatlah rasa rindu solat di masjid.

In the following weeks, I continue to head out to Masjid Tun Hussein Onn on Friday. I noticed that a number of other like-minded people had taken the chance to perform prayers under the main foyer and external sidewalks. In essence, anywhere that is clean and proper to lay down a prayer mat. For this, I have to acknowledge the kindness and bravery of the mosque committee for not chasing us away. The committee may have ignored SOP requirements in this situation but I am glad they decided to practice common sense and discretion.

The gazebo at Masjid Tun Hussein Onn

We have now entered the second year of MCO-imposed new normal living conditions. It seems that we may have to experience the long haul. The old normal does not seem to be coming back anytime soon.