Right decision by Sarawak

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
– Marie Curie, physicist

Critics have been proven wrong. They predicted that Sarawak would blindly abide by the decision of its “federal masters” to implement the conditional movement control order (CMCO) today to allow the reopening of most economic sectors.

They argued that Sarawak had on many occasions been a pak turut (a weak person who always agrees with his superior), going along with Putrajaya’s decision in the past and this one was not going to be any different. Well, I repeat, they were wrong!

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg thought the state government was in no hurry to implement the CMCO. If Putrajaya wanted to allow businesses to resume, though under strict standard operating procedures, that was its decision — whether right or wrong, that’s another story. But Sarawak is not obliged to follow.

Kudos to Sarawak for its bold move. It’s the right decision to ensure vigilance against Covid-19 that has claimed 105 lives nationwide.

Kuching is still classified as Covid-19 red zone, so to ease the MCO restrictions would only lead to public to let their guard down. Sarawak had five new cases yesterday — Samarahan recorded three, while Kuching and Sibu had one each.

Abang Johari’s decision has been emulated by Sabah which feels that the implementation of the CMCO could derail efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.

I believe some people in Putrajaya see Sarawak and Sabah’s decision as an attempt to challenge federal authority although it was made purely on medical and health grounds.

I know some local people are not too happy with the move. A few politicians and one or two leaders of business chambers wanted Sarawak to follow in the footsteps of Putrajaya, arguing that the MCO was badly affecting businesses and that some entrepreneurs might be forced to tutup kedai (wind up). Okay, these people have a point. We offer our sympathies.

But which is more important — lives or business? Health is indispensable in life and business plays second fiddle to it. Simply put, a country’s economic health can be revived but can we bring a dead person to life? Think about it.

Both Sarawak and Sabah’s decision could have emboldened a few states in the peninsula to put off the implementation of the CMCO. Penang, Kedah, Pahang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and even the PAS state of Kelantan have said they would not implement the CMCO today.

Malaysia should learn from the experiences of Ghana and Hokkaido which lifted their lockdowns too soon. Covid-19 cases in the African nation of Ghana surged over 2,000, recording a 24 per cent increase in just 10 days following the easing of a three-week lockdown by President Nana Akufo-Addo in the capital of Accra.

Akufo-Addo’s advisers had questioned his decision to reopen businesses, but he insisted that early and aggressive contact tracing would give health officials the upper hand. But he was very wrong.

Ghana’s experience should drive home an important message to some of our stubborn leaders.

Japan’s Hokkaido experience is another lesson in our fight against Covid-19. The island adopted measures to curb an early outbreak with a three-week lockdown but officials lifted restrictions too early and as a result a second wave of infections hit the islanders even harder. And Japanese officials had no choice but to implement a second lockdown — 26 days later! Let’s not make the same mistakes as these two countries.