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.

On time delivery

There is no doubt that the Movement Control Order (MCO) enforced by the government to control the spread of the coronavirus is causing hardship to many people. It has been extensively argued that such a measure is necessary, otherwise more deaths due to covid-19 would occur and the increasing numbers of infected cases place a huge strain on healthcare facilities.

I do not doubt that our medical frontliners are most affected by the rising number of cases in this so-called 3rd wave. However, I do have reservations about the effectiveness of the MCO in its various forms (RMCO, EMCO etc). My main grouse is the lack of consistency in issuing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that the public and businesses have to adhere to. I would have thought that after a year of tackling the pandemic, the government authorities would have had some expertise in deciding what can or cannot be done.

I have previously written about how the pandemic is affecting my son who runs a food stall operation (Hard times during the Covid-19 pandemic). When MCO 2.0 was enforced a few weeks ago, dine-in at restaurants and food outlets were not permitted. All restaurants and food stalls had to rely on takeaway and delivery sales only. This meant that sales income reduced drastically. The dine-in only restriction has since been lifted a few days ago, but according to my son, the number of walk-in customers is still very low.

Apart from dine-in customers, my son's business is also registered on Foodpanda. In addition to this online delivery platform, he also takes phone orders for COD delivery within selected areas of Johor Bahru using ad-hoc runners. When his normal ad-hoc guy could not make it for whatever reason, I become the replacement delivery guy. To date, I have made four (4) deliveries. Three deliveries were within 10km from the outlet at Dataran Larkin while one was to a customer who lived outside the 10km limit. Technically speaking, this was against SOP rules. In fact, I just found out that the practice of cash-on-delivery (COD) for sending food by individuals (as opposed to the registered riders of Foodpanda, Grab Food etc) require a police permit. Failure to have one means the risk of being compounded to the value of RM1000.

My son's food stall business is really a very small enterprise. The money he makes barely covers his costs. In these very tough times, I have to help him out in any way that I can. Even to the extent of being an unregistered delivery guy and doing so at some risk. I sincerely hope MCO 2.0 would not be extended. There has to be a way in which the government can balance the need for economic activity against the risk of further disease outbreak.

While I'm on the subject, the photo below is the MCO Menu of Warong Noodle. Prices shown are not inclusive of delivery charges, which are very reasonable for customers located within a 10km radius of Dataran Larkin. Only RM5 per delivery, irrespective of the quantity of purchase, subject to the carrying capacity of the dispatcher. Thanks :-)

Menu for self pick-up. Delivery available for selected areas at nominal charge

Aidiladha 2020 under MCO conditions

Today is Hari Raya Aidiladha, one of two Eid festivals in the Muslim calendar. It is also known as Hari Raya Haji or Hari Raya Korban, on occasion of the hajj pilgrimage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia and the ritual of livestock sacrifice encouraged upon Muslims who can afford it. However, the worldwide Covid19 pandemic has caused governments to severely scale down the religious activities.

Looking at the TV footage of hajj pilgrims doing the tawaf around Kaabah this year, the stark difference from previous years is glaringly obvious. The millions of hajj hopefuls who had planned to perform their pilgrimage this season, have to wait for the next. The miniscule coronavirus takes no prisoners.

We are at my better half's hometown of Mersing today. Just a small group of family members. No qurbani activity either. But still, a good time to relax and reflect upon the effect of the presence of an unseen enemy.

At Masjid Bandar Mersing

MCO Haircut Version 2

It has been one and a half months since my son gave me a haircut at home under the MCO situation. Although barbers and hairdressers are now allowed to operate in the relaxed restrictions, I still do not have full confidence of the mitigated risks with respect to close contact with barbers. I have decided to stick with my son until we have a zero-infection status in the whole country.

For this second trimming, I chose to make it easy on my son and went for the crewcut style. It is also a look that I have sported before, having opted for it when I performed hajj and umrah. Should last me a few months until the next cut is needed.

The 'balik-haji' or 'balik-umrah' look

Kena tembak sebelum masuk...

* 36.6 *

Angka tersebut adalah kegemaran saya buat masa ini untuk meneka jawapan setiap kali pistol suhu dihalakan ke dahi saya sebelum dibenarkan masuk masjid, pasaraya, restoran, pejabat kerajaan dan seumpamanya. Setakat ini, kadar ketepatan tekaan dianggarkan bawah 10 peratus, hahaha...

Di Masjid Bulatan, Kg Melayu Majidee, JB

MCO Haircut

In a previous posting, I mentioned that I do not mind if barber shops are not allowed to operate under relaxed MCO conditions. Among the reasons that I gave was that I have experience in sporting a long hairstyle before.

Who am I kidding, really?

My days as a rock fan are long gone. My hair is almost totally gray now. I have an itchy scalp problem and keeping my hair long doesn't help.

So when the electric hair trimmer that my son ordered online arrived yesterday, I asked him to give me a haircut after he was done trimming his. Abah nak style yang macam mana, he asked. Well... any style that you are comfortable doing, I replied. As long as it looks neat. Ok, he'll try one way first, he said. Just a little trim. If I don't like it, he will cut a bit more. To allay his fears, I told him not to worry too much. We can always go for the crew cut as a last resort. Hahaha...

As it turned out, he ended giving me a young man's haircut style. Very short on the sides and back with a pronounced thicker mop of hair on top. It's a look I'm not familiar with but I can live with it. It's not like I have to look good for a job interview or anything...

Thank you, son (Imran Azizi).

Not too bad a cut from an amateur barber

Hari Raya Aidilfitri 1441H / 2020M

Sambutan bulan ramadhan dan Hari Raya Aidilfitri yang tersangatlah berbeza pada tahun ini. Tiada siapa yang menjangka yang hidup kita pada beberapa bulan yang lalu sehingga kini dan seterusnya telah terkesan oleh sejenis mahluk halus yang tidak terlihat dengan mata kasar. Coronavirus - namamu akan tercatit dalam sejarah dunia sebagai satu musuh yang telah mengakibatkan bermacam angkara, kerugian kewangan dan korban nyawa.

• Tiada solat jemaah di masjid. Bermakna tiada juga solat tarawih di masjid sebagaimana tahun-tahun sebelum ini. Sebaliknya ini melatih ketua-ketua keluarga untuk mengimamkan solat tarawih di rumah masing-masing.
• Tiada solat sunat Aidilfitri di masjid.
• Tiada tradisi kujung mengunjung di kalangan sanak saudara dan sahabat handai.
• Tiada acara bersalam-salaman dan bermaaf-maafan secara sentuhan fizikal. Diganti dengan pertemuan secara alam maya melalui panggilan video menggunakan Whatsapp video call ataupun Zoom.

Selamat hari raya Aidilfitri untuk pembaca-pembaca sekelian. Maaf zahir dan batin. Taqabbalallahu minna waminkum...

Relaxing the MCO restrictions

The Malaysian government has seen a bit of light at the end of the tunnel...

Tomorrow Monday 4 May 2020 sees the relaxation of some restrictions imposed under the Movement Control Order. Many people have expressed their concern that such a move would cause a possible 3rd wave of Covid-19 infections. Among the words used to describe the government's decision include 'premature', 'risky', 'drastic', 'worrying' plus a few other unflattering terms. The recurrence of the pandemic at Hokkaido, Japan has been quoted as an example.

Such concerns and criticisms are understandable. 'We have held on for so long.... why can't we see it through for a few more days? The virus is not totally eradicated yet. Why sacrifice the hard work of all frontliners just for the sake of the economy?'

In this particular situation, I agree with the Prime Minister and his team. I am sure the government has made careful discussion and deliberation before arriving at the decision. I believe it was made upon consideration of the need to balance risk and necessity with due thought towards the capability of our healthcare system. Discounting the earlier blunders made by certain ministers and government departments, I support this move.

Not all of us have sufficient savings, stable jobs, or comfortable homes with internet connectivity. As I've read in a Facebook posting somewhere, we are not all in the same boat. Each of us face this crisis under different circumstances. There are many amongst us whose savings have dried up, live in cramped low-cost housing, and depend on welfare food handouts for their daily meals. The easing of restrictions may provide opportunities to some of these people to eke out a living or, at the very least, allow a few hours of respite outside their homes.

It is not like a free-for-all situation come this Monday. The Ministry of Health still imposes strict guidelines on how businesses are allowed to operate (the so-called SOP). A full lockdown can be imposed on selected locations should there be a breach of the rules. Therefore it becomes imperative that we, as responsible citizens, play our part to follow the government's directives. Of course, there would be doubters who say that not everybody would comply; just look at the number of MCO offences that have been committed so far. The only response I can offer is, as long as we call ourselves human beings, there would always be someone who has a mind of his own. I put my trust with the authorities to deal with such idiots.

Having said that, my only gripe with the relaxed MCO is still the closure of mosques and suraus. While the objective may be to prevent a large group of people from congregating, a partial (or sectional) opening of mosques should be made available. Most mosques in Malaysia have external corridors or verandahs, apart from the main prayer hall. These sections are enough to allow the occasional traveler, food-delivery guy, or policeman manning a roadblock to perform his prayer in peace and perhaps rest for a while. And he may use the moment to recite a du'a or two, asking the Almighty for assistance and guidance in this trying period. As it is now, we see photos of runners and cops praying by the roadside being posted on social media. Mosques in Singapore had made this facility available since the very start of their lockdown. They even marked out the prayer spaces on the floor so that no jemaah would stand close to one another. I fail to understand why we have not done the same.

I would even venture to suggest that the occasional 'solat berjemaah' be allowed, as long as the number of persons is small and appropriate spacing is practiced. An example of such a situation is when I stop at a mosque to pray and at the same time, there is another traveler with the same intention.

If the Prime Minister can allow Pak Salleh to open his restaurant provided the seating arrangement comply with the SOP, why can't he allow Pak Imam to open his mosque too?

In this month of Ramadhan, I am drawn towards a verse in the holy Al-Qur'an :

"And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way."

(Al- Baqarah, verse 186)

Goreng

Masak tauge goreng lada
Lada ditumbuk lada putih,
Tuan menagih pada yang ada
Saya merajuk pada yang kasih...

(pantun dari halaman web DBP)

Dalam mencari maksud pada perkataan 'goreng', saya telah merujuk kepada Kamus Dewan yang saya miliki (edisi keempat tahun 2007). Terdapat dua (2) definisi bagi perkataan tersebut iaitu :

1. Yang dipanggang dalam kuali, yang dimasak dengan minyak.

2. Kecekapan memetik gitar mengikut tempo rancak (bahasa percakapan)

Maksud yang pertama itu adalah jelas dan tidak perlu dihuraikan. Maksud yang kedua pula adalah satu slanga (percakapan tidak rasmi) bagi aksi bermain gitar di mana petikan tali gitar itu dibuat dengan rancak dan nyaring, terutamanya pada bahagian 'gitar solo' dalam sesebuah lagu.

Para peminat muzik sudah tentu faham maksud kedua perkataan ini. Antara pemuzik tanahair yang pandai 'menggoreng' gitar ialah allahyarham M Shariff dan allahyarham A Rahman Hassan. Bagi saya, penggoreng gitar barat yang paling saya minati ialah Mark Knopfler.

Sebenarnya, rujukan yang saya buat ialah untuk mencari satu lagi maksud perkataan 'goreng' yang saya mula dengar ketika zaman persekolahan berpuluh tahun dahulu. 'Goreng' yang dimaksudkan ini juga digunakan dalam percakapan tidak formal. Tidak pasti pula samada istilah ini masih disebut oleh pelajar-pelajar masa kini.

Oleh kerana Kamus Dewan saya edisi lama, saya pun membuat semakan di internet. Manalah tahu, mungkin sudah ada definisi baru. Maaf... tiada definisi baru di laman web DBP.

Jadi, bagaimana ya untuk saya terangkan maksud ketiga perkataan 'goreng' ini (ikut pemahaman saya lah)? Mungkin saya boleh beri contoh pengunaannya.

Contoh 1 : Soalan karangan dalam kertas periksa BM tadi susah betul. Ceritakan satu keadaan yang boleh menerangkan maksud peribahasa 'Lalang ditanam, takkan padi yang tumbuh!'. Saya tak pernah pun dengar perumpamaan itu. Mana ada orang tanam lalang. Saya pun goreng je jawapannya.

Contoh 2 : Aku duk dengar dengan tekun mamat tu bagi ceramah tentang periuk masak yang terhebat di pasaran. Boleh grill, steam, air-fry, bake, smoke dan segala macam metode memasak. Dan bagaimana kalau kita jadi ahli, boleh tingkatkan jualan dengan hanya dapatkan tiga orang `downline' dan terus jana pendapatan beribu-ribu dalam masa beberapa bulan sahaja! Dalam bab menggoreng ni, tiada yang lebih hebat dari promoter MLM.

Kecekapan menggoreng cara ini kadangkala ada munafaatnya. Tetapi haruslah berhati-hati... terlebih goreng boleh jadi hangus.

Lima ratus negara tu memang sah-sah lah menggoreng. Tersalah sebut, katanya. Yang dimaksudkan ialah 500 peserta dari seluruh dunia. Ok lah... saya pun tidak pasti sebesar mana sesi 'video conferencing' yang dianjurkan oleh Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia. Mungkin talian sambungan mereka tersangatlah lancar dan jelas. Kami kumpulan rakan sekolah lama, buat panggilan video guna Google Duo, seramai tujuh atau lapan orang pun tersekat-sekat.

Panjang juga celoteh saya pada hari ini. Terima kasih kerana sudi membaca.

Gambar sekadar hiasan. Tempe dan tahu goreng. Enak di makan dalam waktu pergerakan terhad PKP.

Tempe dan tahu goreng dari Segamat Station Kopitiam

Getting a haircut is essential

Today 13 April 2020 marks the 27th day that Malaysia has been in lockdown. The restriction would have ended tomorrow on the 28th day (1st extension from the original 14 days). However, the government has decided that it is necessary to impose a second extension for another 14 days to fight this Covid-19 outbreak. The MCO will now be in force until 28 April 2020, for now at least.

In making the announcement on this so-called third phase of the movement restriction, the Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI) declared that a number of businesses would be allowed to operate, joining the other essential services previously mentioned in the first order. Among these are barbers and hair salons, although with the proviso of doing haircuts only. This little bit of news caused wide surprise amongst many. The Penang state government decided not to follow the federal government's move. Social media was rife with comments questioning the wisdom of uplifting the restriction for getting haircuts. The association for barbers and hairdressers came out with statements that they would see out the MCO. Even the Health Ministry requested the move to be reconsidered.

Hmmm.... one ministry requesting another ministry in the public domain. There is a disconnect somewhere.

Anyway, if I'm given the choice between cutting my hair or cutting the grass in the compound of my house, I would choose the latter. Because :

1. The grasscutter can do his work without the need to be in close contact with me.

2. A compound where the grass is neatly trimmed and free of weeds and 'kemuncup' is soothing to the eyes and calming to the nerves.

3. Sporting a long (but stylish) hairstyle is not alien to me.

Take care friends. Stay safe. Grit your teeth and wait for the sunshine.

With batchmate Rommel Abu Hassan, somewhere in the UK in early 1980s

Not all government advice is worth following

Failing in style is not always a bad thing

'If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly.' - G. K. Chesterton

In July 2009, I wrote a post about Heroic Failures, where I shared a story from a book written by Stephen Pile. That particular book was bought when I was a student in the 1980s. After a lapse of more than 20 years, Mr Pile has produced another compilation of similar stories.

This latest book is titled 'The Not Terribly Good Book of Heroic Failures'. It is a collection of stories from all over the world about people who not only did not succeed in what they wanted to do but managed to do (or not do it, depending on your point of view) in some style. While it is hilarious to read of other people's bungling attempts, there are some inspiring stories too. Just goes to show that sometimes, if you're going to make a mistake, make it a big one, embarrassment aside.

I'll share two snippets from the book.
..........................

1. The Worst Moment for a Crime

Choosing the right moment is vitally important in any crime. Mr David Goodall of Barnsley, for example, set off in January 1979 to do a little bit of shoplifting. Once inside the Barnsley branch of British Home Stores, he had hardly stolen his first item when he was simultaneously seized by eight pairs of hands. The shop was holding a convention of store detectives at the time.

2. The Least Successful Equal-Pay Advertisement

In 1976, the European Economic Community pointed out to the Irish government that it had not yet implemented the agreed sex-equality legislation. The Dublin government immediately advertised for an equal-pay enforcement officer. The advertisement offered different salary scales for men and women.
...........................

On 30 March 2020, the Women's Development Department, an agency under the Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga Dan Masyarakat (a ministry I won't attempt to translate into English) published four (4) public advisory posters on their Facebook page. Each poster carried different tips on ways to improve family relationship during the Movement Control Order restriction. The posters immediately came under heavy fire from various sections of the community for being sexist and disrespectful to the role of women in the household. This prompted the head of the department to issue a formal apology and the posters were withdrawn the very next day. Even the apology was criticized for having a condescending tone.

In light of what happened, I felt that Mr Pile's book is somewhat relevant. I would like to suggest to the person/team from KPWKM who produced those posters to try get hold of this book (or any of the other Heroic Failure books) so that you may be relieved to know that you are not alone in making blunders. Your posters (although now retracted) are being quoted by many media channels over the world.

But what is past, is past. Take some time to chill and re-group. Come back with a better and knockout campaign to redeem yourself. Malaysia Boleh!

Poster No.1 : Work from home... but dress-up too

MCO Day7

We are into the 7th Day of the Movement Control Order, imposed by the government in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. Another week to go, provided that the restriction order is not extended. It looks to me that a further extension of the lockdown is very likely because the rate of new infected cases is still on the rise.

I've found that the best representation of the Covid-19 infection curve is given by Bernama. Yesterday 23 March 2020 saw the highest single-day increase since the first discovery on 25 January 2020. There were 212 new cases, bringing the total to 1,518 persons to date. The so-called 'flattening of the curve' has not yet happened.

Infographic from  Bernama

After two consecutive days of being totally at home, I had to pop out to the supermarket because our grocery stock has run low. This time I drove alone to AEON Mall at Bandar Dato' Onn, about 15 minutes from where I live. As expected, the traffic on the roads is very light, surreal even. The open-air car park at the mall was perhaps only a quarter full. AEON had designated only a single entrance and a separate exit. At the entrance, a security guard used a thermometer to scan my temperature while another squirted hand sanitizer before allowing me to stand in line. The floor is marked with tape at regular intervals to designate the distancing requirement as advised by the health authorities. AEON controls the number of people in their store by allowing some to enter only after the corresponding number has left. Generally, most shoppers came alone and went about their business in a calm and quiet manner. No standing close to each other or clambering for stuff on the shelves. I could be having a bad BO problem and nobody would notice, hehehe. Most edible items on the shelves are adequately stocked. Only fresh eggs seem to be sold out.

In line with the government directives, only the supermarket section is open. The general merchandise sections plus all the other tenants are closed. Overall, I believe that we Malaysians are a well-mannered and compliant lot. Of course, there are few jerks who are too stubborn for their own good. God may have created all men as equals but unfortunately, some chose to be stupid on their own accord.

Take care everyone. Covid-19 is now a worldwide problem. It has become more difficult to name a country that has not been affected by it compared to those that have.

Standing in line before being allowed in

Update 25.03.2020 @ 3.00pm : The MCO is extended by another 2 weeks to 14 April 2020.

After Day 1 of Movement Control Order (MCO)

In the previous post two days ago, I mentioned my intention to drop by Larkin Sentral Market on the first day of the MCO. I changed that decision. Instead of going to the largest wet market in Johor Bahru, we went to Mydin Hypermarket at Taman Rinting to see if the situation is different from our experience at Tesco.

Before I describe the situation at Mydin, let me first briefly recap my Day 1 MCO :

1. Our youngest son safely arrived home around 4.00 am after driving from Shah Alam. He was previously working at a restaurant and had resigned before the government announced the partial lockdown. I was slightly worried that he might face problems in getting home due to the inter-state movement restriction.

2. A message came in my MRSM Kuantan alumni whatsapp group confirming that one of our friends has been infected with the coronavirus. He was part of the group we call Kuatagh Pioneers (the first batch of students enrolled at MRSM Kuantan) who held a reunion at Jakarta the weekend before. Among those who attended the reunion were some former teachers. The implications of this bit of worrying news are still being contemplated. Nonetheless, my prayers for the infected senior and that no other participants of that event had been affected.

3. My wife and I went to do some grocery shopping at Mydin Mall in Taman Rinting. There was very little traffic on the road, indicating that the MCO does have some effect. The situation at the hypermarket was calm and orderly. Apart from the hypermarket itself, the other tenants within the mall were closed. A few stalls in the foodcourt were in business but only for takeaways. The number of shoppers, I would say, is about average on a normal weekend. The hypermarket was well-stocked. There were no empty shelves although some essential items have a purchase limit for each customer. I did not see any shopper hoard stuff into his trolley. Overall, I applaud the Mydin chain for managing their business quite well in these trying times.

4. On the way home, we stopped by one of our regular restaurants that sells nasi campur. They had a large array of pre-cooked lauk pauk, all for sale on takeaway basis only. I was happy that they were open for business because, judging from the number of customers, they are providing a much-needed service too.

Another 13 days to go unless the Prime Minister decides an extension is required if the outbreak does not reverse its upward trend. Let's hope and pray that this pandemic ends soon.

Enough toilet rolls at Mydin for everyone

Panic buying

Yesterday 16 March 2020, the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced a Movement Control Order that is intended to curb the Covid-19 virus outbreak. The Order would be effective tomorrow 18 March 2020 and last up to 31 March 2020.

I do not intend to go into details of the restrictions contained in the order. Just to note that it did spark a spree of panic buying among some citizens in this country. While the government has gone to great lengths to assure the people not to panic (provision stores and markets would be allowed to operate), there is no way to prevent certain segments of the community from hoarding stuff as if the world is about to end. In some ways, that is understandable. For the majority of Malaysians, it is a situation they have never faced before. Uncharted waters. Unknown territory, We are human beings after all... we fear the unknown.

Earlier today I decided to drop by a local supermarket to see the situation for myself. I chose to go to Tesco at Setia Tropika which is actually not our normal place to shop for groceries. I thought that maybe this relatively smaller supermarket would not be a target for hoarders. How wrong I was.

The rows and rows of empty shelves were quite astonishing. Many of the essential items are sold out. Tesco had run out of stocks to replenish.

I picked up the few items I need that are still available. At the checkout counter, I asked the cashier when the panic buying happened. She said that it was yesterday evening. It was crazy.

Well, the actual 2-week restriction period will start tomorrow. I'll probably make a quick trip to Larkin wet market to see if there are some people still in panic mode.

Fresh vegetable section

Canned food

Total wipeout of toilet rolls. Only kitchen towels left

Just a few bags of rice remain

Frozen foodstuff all but gone