LETTER: Since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed on March 18 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have become accustomed to the so-called "new normal".
We put on a mask whenever we are out of our home. Outside, we dutifully observe social distancing. We are ready to have our temperature taken and jot down our phone number for the sake of contact tracing.
The past four months have been a traumatic one for some, and for many, it has been a learning experience. We have had to juggle between lives and livelihood. We need to know how to strike a balance between both worlds.
We live to work and work to live. To a large extent, we owe our sound state to a government which is caring. It knows how to handle a crisis calmly and confidently for the welfare and wellbeing of the rakyat, which is its prime concern.
No one is left behind. We do not witness panic buying and we have food on our table. We avert social unrest. The six-month loan moratorium gives people breathing space and the generous stimulus package is real economic "oxygen".
Later, we will know how to slowly and steadily open our borders, schools, universities, shopping complexes without jeopardising our safety. We are wary of the possible resurgence of the pandemic. We do not throw caution to the wind.
The pandemic, for all the hardship it has brought us, has at the same time made us come together as a cohesive nation in a time of crisis. Just look at the people at the frontline – be they medical personnel, the police, the Armed Forces or those from government and welfare agencies – they work "bertungkus lumus", to use an apt Malay term, that best describes the way they carry out their duties. They are our heroes.
When the storm is over, calm will return. Business will pick up again, jobs will return, life will be back to the pre-March 18 days. We all will celebrate that we have gone through an unprecedented pandemic and emerged as a nation stronger than ever before.
DR KOH AIK KHOON
SUBANG JAYA, SELANGOR
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times