So what's the new normal?

WITH the COVID-19 pandemic still underway and impacting the global economy, governments are struggling to figure out how to come out of this either unscathed or with minimal damage.

While our healthcare system in Malaysia along with the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) has limited the impact on physical health, mental health issues are also needing some attention, even with the practising of relaxation techniques.

Furthermore, it is time for Malaysians to understand that there will be a new normal, as Selangor’s Menteri Besar himself has admitted in a recent press conference. What will be this “new normal”?

For the short term, it would mean putting the Ramadan bazaars on hold – these have been part of our lives for a very long time each fasting month, and there will surely be repercussions.

The idea of somehow converting it into an online marketplace is not without merit, but it will also need an increase in delivery personnel to what I’m personally thinking will make us rival Vietnam in terms of motorcyclists on the road.

At the same time, we would have to reconfigure industry itself.

The previous government was pushing hard for automation, and with the increasing demand of less workers to enforce social distancing, there will be even greater need for small and medium enterprises in the manufacturing sector to implement this.

The education sector will also need a titanic reformation. For physical classrooms, you have to consider cutting classrooms in half, employing more teachers as a result, and implementing either school in shifts or building new infrastructure to cope.

If government decides online classes is the way to go, how will they ensure connectivity for all the students across the country, in both urban and rural areas?

Local councils and malls will need to come up with guidelines as to how many people will be allowed to enter a shop, or even integrated transport terminals such as KL Sentral, Penang Sentral and even the airports.

Will the ministry be issuing directives and regulations through local councils stating how many people are allowed into an establishment, determined by the square footage of a shop?

Similarly, you will also need to standardise such for office spaces to allow for social distancing, perhaps doing so by working shifts between those in the office and those working from home.

How will hotels cope with such limitations for their event spaces? How will exhibition and conference centres deal with these as well?

The cold, hard truth is that there will be no saving the entire tourism industry from collapse as this virus impacts the world at large. There will be no tourists, exhibitions, expos, seminars and the likes in physical form for at least a year or two.

How will you implement social distancing on offshore platforms? How will you implement it on construction sites?

Furthermore, will refunds for travel agencies, events, airlines and all be paid in full or partial?

How about school or university fees – will these be refunded in full, partial, or be carried forward to the next semester? What about students receiving scholarships or PTPTN?

Will late payments for housing cause property developers to fold?

These are just some of the questions that need answering before we lift the MCO.

Having ministers willing to address these will be more beneficial than posters of how to alleviate conflict by talking like Doraemon or even having a TikTok competition.

People need assurance that life after the MCO is lifted will guarantee some form of security, with some form of measures to ensure their safety going back to work, as well as the safety of their sons and daughters going back to schools and continuing their higher education.

They need hope that while they will have to cope with a new normal until a vaccine is discovered for COVID-19, the government will set boundaries and policies to ensure life will at least continue in some shape or form of the previous normalcy.

Until this is ensured, I believe the government should not even think of lifting the MCO which will risk increasing the curve to the point that our healthcare system will be unable to cope.

Let the MCO extend beyond Ramadan and hari raya, as long as the health, safety and security of the people is maintained during this crisis.

And if people cannot deal with it, they should be welcome to join up in the agriculture industry and form farming colonies or assist those already working to feed the nation like a kibbutz programme.

In fact, make that the community service for those unable to adhere to the MCO.

If they have itchy fingers and feet, they might as well work it off to feed the nation like a chain gang.

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* Hafidz Baharom is a social observer and a regular contributor at Astro AWANI digital section.

** Views expressed are personally his and do not necessarily reflect those of Astro AWANI.