Money ain’t everything in Covid-19 crisis

COMMENT | “You can run but you can’t hide” could be the title of a song or a quote from American heavyweight boxer Joe Louis to his contender at the eve of a boxing match.

However, during this Covid-19 season, this song or quote is about all ages, gender or class. As someone correctly pointed out, even the young or rich are not spared from this Covid-19 scourge that is ruining life socially and economically.

The government’s RM250 billion Prihatin Rakyat economic stimulus package rolled out last week was touted as all-encompassing, under the theme “No One Left Behind”. 

Accolades should be given for the newly minted government for acting swiftly and in a manner to remedy and save the nation from the potential harm and damage to the nation if left unattended. Some are looking back with regret at the nonchalant attitude or inactions of the previous government but there’s no time for regret or blame now.

The focus of the stimulus was helping citizens in the bottom 40 percent lower-income (B40) and middle-income 40 percent (M40) segments in society, as well as the small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to survive the impact of the lockdown that is now global in the fight against Covid-19.

The “No One Left Behind” safety net is still porous. Non-governmental organisations are now seeking public donations to fund outreach programmes to Malaysia’s irregular workers who are among the hardest hit segment of society.

While the government’s key responsibility is to its citizens, we cannot ignore our greater humanitarian role to care for non-citizens in this time of global pandemic. Life is life, irrespective whether we are Malaysians, Rohingya, Indonesians or Bangladeshis. Like it or not they are all our neighbours and the phrase “Love thy neighbour as thyself” must be remembered.

In 2017, the Home Affairs Ministry reported that four out of 10 foreign workers are irregular in Malaysia, suggesting there are 1.2 million irregulars out of the total foreign worker population of about three million. The World Bank suggests there are as many as four million irregular foreign workers in Malaysia.

This explains the rush by Indonesians to return home before the lockdown where mandatory work stoppages forced many to lose their jobs. The bulk who remained now face hard choices for survival. Those daily paid have no income. The lockdown has now stretched beyond two weeks which means any savings would have run out. We now have potentially four million irregulars in a desperate state to survive.

Social studies have shown that during economic downturns, there will be a spike in crime. But that’s the least of our worries in this current pandemic.

Irregular foreign workers make up a population cluster with no access to Covid-19 testing and if they are sick, they won’t go to hospitals until they become critical. Given that they live within close proximity, often in large clusters such as workers quarters where up to 10 workers occupy one 20-foot container, this is fertile ground for viral infestation.

So far, the Health Ministry has focused on Malaysians. There are warnings of a second Covid-19 wave from Malaysians who went abroad to infected countries for holidays, and the health authorities are monitoring this cluster. Realistically, we need to monitor our foreign workers because once the partial lockdown is lifted, this untested cluster will be unleashed into the population and it may be Armageddon.

Another aspect of “No One Left Behind” concerns aid for the homeless. These are clusters who do not have tax numbers, and who are not even in B40 or hardcore poor register. A 2017 Australian study in Victoria shows it costs A$25,615 (RM68,199) per homeless person per year covering health, crime, human capital. 

The study showed it is much cheaper to provide last-resort housing than letting people sleep in the streets. The cost-benefit ratio is 2.7, which means for every A$1 (RM2.66) spent on housing the homeless, society would gain A$2.70 (RM7.20) over 20 years (Guy Stayner, 2017). 

Agensi Inovasi Malaysia estimated in 2017 the cost per homeless is RM2,955 for the running of shelters and welfare aids. Therefore, interventions to reduce homelessness in Malaysia justify its cost to society. And Covid-19 has provided the perfect excuse for the Malaysian government to build more shelters or housing for the homeless.

Movement restriction of the population also has a psychological cost as well. Already, NGOs are dealing with a reported increase in domestic violence, which is just one consequence of the partial lockdown.

Based on the 2012 Personal Safety Survey by KPMG in Australia, it estimates that the total cost of violence against women and children is A$22 billion (RM58.6 billion) in 2015-16. The United Nations reports that the cost of violence against women amounts to US$1.84 trillion which is two percent of the global domestic product stemming from productivity loss, and hefty medical costs. 

Again, Covid-19 shows the government that necessary interventions justify its costs.

Other psychological impacts include loss of self-confidence arising from business failures or job losses which leads to family breakups, mental strain and even suicide. Two days ago, the Finance Minister of Germany’s Hesse state, Thomas Schaefer, was found dead near a railway track from an apparent suicide after reportedly being stressed out by the economic fallout from Covid-19.

Whilst we deal with Covid-19’s economic fallout, the social impact of the movement control order must also be addressed before this weighs in on our nation of 32.4 million people.

TI LIAN KER is a senator and also Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research chairman. He can be reached at [email protected].

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

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