LETTER | Movement control order woes

LETTER | The movement control order (MCO) was issued on March 16 by the prime minister in order to restrict the movement of the public in an effort to contain the Covid-2019 virus.

Whilst the intention was clear, the instruction was insufficient and the execution was abysmal, causing great distress to many and continues to be a bone of contention to many. The massive exodus of people to their kampung and hometowns soon after the announcement was made, defeated the purpose of the containment plan. 

Perhaps the planning should have been done earlier and adequate time is given to those studying or working far away from home to make travel plans. Perhaps it skipped the mind of the “decision-makers” that there were many enrolled in higher educational institutions, vocational schools and hostels and they all needed to vacate their premises with immediate effect.

Perhaps it skipped the mind of the public that the sole purpose of the MCO was to restrict movement, not to play Indiana Jones and go on an adventurous trip. Adventurous it was for many. The directive from the police force for those travelling inter-state created panic and so, there was the other exodus of people to the police stations creating more people-traffic at a time when social distancing was the order of the day. 

Added to that, the congestion in public transport stations was alarming to those who understood the impact of close proximity during this period. It was not just close proximity. It was a Fevibond-ing session that created a conducive environment for the virus to play hop skip and jump from one host to another. 

What was intended, turned out to be a fiesta for the virus to translocate and transcript away to glory. And so now we are waiting for the inevitable, the third wave to take place which is anytime in the next few weeks/months. God help us all, especially the healthcare workers.

Added to that, with the current “lockdown”, it is a harrowing experience for the people employed in essential services to get to their workplace on time or to reach home early, after a terribly long and exhausting day at work. This especially applies to the healthcare workers. A peek into the life of a healthcare worker at the present time perhaps? 

You get into work at 7am, before the sun is up, spend the entire day on your feet or toes, making crucial life or death decisions, putting yourself at risk, attending to irate person/s, often skipping meals and when you look at your watch, 12 hours later, the sun has disappeared beyond the horizon and all you want to do is to go home, take a much needed and required shower and hit the sack. 

Instead, you find yourself on the road and you haven't moved an inch the last two hours because there's a roadblock 5km ahead. You look at your watch and realise you're most probably going to be sitting in the exact same spot, long enough to see the sun rise again. 

Containment in a car was not part of the plan I believe. It is tormenting for those who are already going beyond their calling at work, to be subjected to this kind of "containment" on the roads.

For that matter, even for someone with a medical emergency, who direly needs medical help but instead finds himself sitting in his car unable to see the end of the roadblock even with a telescope, this puts him in a perilous position.

What would be appropriate would be for the public to stay home and remain home for the entire period of this lockdown so that people, whose services are required by the public, can travel to work on time and return home, smoothly, without interruption so that we are able to wake up fresh the next day, ready to take on the aftermath of the virus attack.

What would be appropriate would be, for the public to only leave their homes to acquire consumable items or other essential items when needed. Not leave their homes to visit their friends and relatives within the 10km range stipulated by the government and most certainly not to engage in mass gatherings or parties.

What would be appropriate is the creation/enforcement of separate lanes for those providing essential services so that these people need not be “contained” in their cars, along with all the insensitive folks who by right should be following the MCO order to the T. 

Frequently the special lanes are inaccessible to the “essential services-delivering” folks because of the obstructing traffic. It would help if the authorities can figure out a way to ensure folks like us or those needing emergency help, are able to access the special lanes without being caught in the ridiculous traffic caused by the roadblock.

Which brings me back to my current predicament. I left home for work at 7.30am. I left work at 7pm, stomach rumbling, famished to tears, mind slightly disoriented from lack of sleep, food and water and I'm currently parked behind a Honda, on the Federal Highway, that reversed and almost accidentally crashed into my car (because I suspect the driver of the Honda was equally disoriented as me or fell asleep with his foot on the accelerator) and my fuel gauge is about to start blinking. It's 11pm, I'm nowhere even close to home and I have to get up at 5am to start my day all over again.

What good are the essential services, if the people providing them are sitting in their cars in the middle of the road, steaming up like a pressure cooker, because they are either going to be terribly late for work (yet again) or unable to get a well-rested sleep? This is a double whammy scenario for everyone.

So please, all the good people of Malaysia, please stay home so we, the essential-services force, can carry out our duties punctually, safely and effectively. 

Not to mention, the real reason for the MCO. 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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