By Jeanisha Wan
THE COVID-19 fatality rate in Malaysia is climbing and on Monday, the Health Ministry reported 61 fatalities.
In a span of two weeks, since the movement control order (MCO 3.0) started on May 12, 548 people have died from COVID-19.
Meanwhile, albeit a survey showing a huge majority (90%) of people supporting a full lockdown due to the very high cases, especially in Selangor, this was not what was announced last Saturday.
Protecting the economy was once again used as a reason why a full lockdown cannot be implemented. And the rakyat are once again asked to stay at home as much as possible or implement a self-imposed lockdown.
But this begs the question: How can people stay at home when a high percentage of them (especially those who work in shopping malls and factories) are still required to go to work onsite? Certain work cannot be done at home, especially if you are a shop assistant, for example.
In a recent TV interview, our prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mentioned that he did not want people to die of starvation if a full lockdown was implemented. And our finance minister was later reported saying the MCO 3.0 will have (only) 1% impact on our country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
But what about the impact on the lives that were lost due to COVID-19? They may seem like a mere statistic to some people who are against a full lockdown. But what about the impact of these deaths on their loved ones, their children and their parents? Every life lost has a ripple effect on the people around them. And what is the cost of a life?
Have human lives become so cheap that we are measuring it against the economy?
In times of war and when invaded by an enemy, should the leaders of the country be worried about protecting the economy or about protecting the people? And we are at war, just a different type of war but the logic is still the same.
Did 548 people die of starvation in the last two weeks? Or will 548 people die of starvation in two weeks if we implement a full lockdown? I think we know the answer to that.
At the end of the day, we are all accountable for the decisions we make and we bear the consequences. To date, 2,309 people in Malaysia have died due to coronavirus. How many more have to die to protect our economy? – May 26, 2021
Jeanisha Wan is the director of Wan Two3 Sdn Bhd, a PR company and founder of The Story Book.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Photo credit: Facebook @DGHisham
