IT is really encouraging that the government came up with a relief package for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the backbone of the national economy.
Yet at the same time the coronavirus crisis should also highlight the importance of investing in vast fields of “human development” and help us reflect on the role of social purpose organisations in the post-pandemic scenario.
There is so much that needs to be done to create the conditions for them to play a substantial part.
As well explained by Ahmad A. Talib in a column published in this daily on April 5, NGOs in Malaysia engaged in the fight against the virus initially not only lacked support from the government but also were told to limit their interventions.
The fact that there was not a clearly established coordination mechanism governing the working modalities of these non-profits in the pandemic is a matter of concern.
Fortunately the ground rules for their operations have now been established. The government fully assented to their services but what happened should lead to a reset, a rethinking of what local volunteers and social purpose organisations can do for society.
Perhaps this pandemic will not only strengthen health systems in Malaysia and across the world with a new wave of massive investments in primary and secondary healthcare services but also will help re-build a social contract between the state and society.
The federal government and the state governments should establish a new national concord where social purpose organisations and the contributions of local volunteers are maximised for the benefit of the nation.
You can see everywhere how governments are leveraging the role of local volunteers to stem the devastating impact of the coronavirus.
Possibly this endeavour should be carried out in a “bottom up” fashion, with the lack of elected officials offset by an apolitical citizens’ forum where the best ideas from the citizenry, including the elderly, the youngsters and persons with disabilities and Orang Asli, can have a voice.
The post-coronavirus scenario should also invite a rethinking of the public function of schools and universities.
What can they really do in practice? First of all schools and universities should play the role of facilitators in conveying the citizen’s forum, linking citizens with government agencies and related stakeholders and with social purpose organisations offering ideas and expertise.
Second it is high time educational administrators re-thought what promoting and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals really means.
Their actions now are mostly driven by the imperative to “conform” to a global trend that helps them look good and seem good in the global rankings.
For example, they can scale up awareness of goals but also be bolder in encouraging students to take action.
New mandatory courses on the Sustainable Development Goals could be introduced in which each participant is asked to commit to the implementation of one mini project.
A culture of volunteerism should be encouraged, especially among students from more technical and scientific backgrounds where there are no “quick” gains from undertaking a service action.
It is really there that we need to invest more, creating more interest, branding a new narrative about the importance of caring and doing something for others.
This will require investments on the part of the schools and universities and it is here where the federal and state governments can step in with new sources of funding.
But funding alone won’t be enough.
This unique time will demand that educators step up their ingenuity and creativity possibly in partnerships with stakeholders from the private sector, creating new civic engagement programmes and initiatives.
Let’s applaud the federal government for rescuing SMEs but let’s also encourage the political and educational leaders to embrace this crisis to kick off a radical new approach to promote what I call the volunteering inspired society.
The writer is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE, an NGO partnering with youths to promote social inclusion and youth empowerment. He can be reached at simone_engage@yahoo.com
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times