I have been quiet for more than 2 years. I had planned to post my comments on the result of General Election 14 held 2 years ago but I kept procrastinating as usual. PH government had collapsed unexpectedly and my review is not relevant anymore now. Who would have thought it would happen in less than 2 years but many of my friends have been praying that one day PH government would be replaced with more competent government and politicians and not making empty promises.
2 years ago, on 10th May 2018 BN government lost to PH in the 14th GE after it had been in power for more than 50 years. However PH government was short lived. Tun Mahathir, the 7th prime Minister gave his resignation letter to Yang DiPertuan Agong without naming his predecessor and informing his allies in the PH government that were DAP, PKR, PAN and PPBM respectively at that time.
He resigned after being pressured by Dap and PKR to hand over the post to Anwar from PKR as he had promised before the 14th GE. He said that he intended to do but at later time this year. He resigned from the post and later his party PPBM pulled out from the coalition on the same day. PH lost the majority parliament seats and that brought down PH government automatically . God works in mysterious way. In just 22 months in power, not even full half term the PH government collapsed.
The Yang dipertuan Agong or YDP had chosen Muhyiddin Yasin to be the prime minister. He had the majority and support from the MPs to be the prime minister. The YDP swore Muhyiddin in as the the 8th prime minister on 1st March 2020 under PN coalition that consists of UMNO, BN, Pas and PPBM
During the political turmoil and drama in Malaysia, coronavirus or covid 19 diseases were spreading slowly in Malaysia and all around the world . The first covid 19 case was first reported in Wuhan, China in early January this year. On March WHO declared Covid 19 a global pandemic. Covid 19 spreads from person to person whether that carrier is symptomatic or asymptomatic. Studies have found out that people who are infected with Covid 19 carry similar levels of the virus in their nose, throat and lungs whether they have symptoms or not. The most common symptoms of Covid 19 are sore throat, fever, cough and shortness of breath. The disease spreads primarily through contact with the infected person when they cough or sneeze. It also spreads when someone touches a surface that has virus on it. The virus can live and survives on surfaces from 2 to 9 hours depending on type of surfaces, temperatures, viral loads, etc. To date it has claimed a total lives of more than 700,00 thousand people worldwide and keep on increasing and does not seem to be slowing down with United States, Brazil, India and Russia leading the rise in fatalities. US has more than 5 million cases with 165,000 deaths. I guess not even Thor and Iron Man and his team of superheroes from all around the galaxies if they came alive could stop this virus from spreading and killing people. Humans are weak and fragile. but yet some people are arrogant and think they will life forever.
Many countries in the world including Malaysia have imposed lockdown since March for several months where shops, businesses, offices and schools were closed to control the spread and transmission of the diseases through social distancing.
Now most of the world has come out of lockdown but the pandemic is far from over. Malaysia has lifted the lockdown phase by phase since end of May and now almost all business and offices are open and schools have started but with strict social distancing measures in place, temperature screening and contact tracing. Malaysia's Covid 19 cases so far are under control and total active cases to date are around three digits below 200 cases , thanks to our Director General of Health , Ministry of Health, front liners and police. However things could change drastically with spike in cases if people do not practice social distancing and if the authority loosening border controls and restrictions infections imported by returned travelers from overseas can spread rapidly to the local. Malaysia is now imposing all foreigners and Malaysians returning from overseas to to be subjected to 14 days quarantine order at quarantine stations set by the government to stop imported infections after allowing just weeks ago for Malaysians returning overseas to self quarantine at home. Some people in Malaysia and other countries too just do not care to adhere to rules and law to self isolate at home when they return from overseas and this is risking other people lives. In Islam there is saying or hadith of Prophet Muhammad p.b.u,h that says when you hear that there is plaque break out in a region do not go in but if you already there do not come out of it. It is a same concept of quarantine that we are doing which is to decrease the element of human contact to the lowest possible level from the deadly virus by staying put at home.
We have to learn to live with coronavirus and the virus is not going to go away for foreseeable future until we find the vaccine or cure. For now we have to live with new normality which means wearing mask and keeping our social distances at office, school and public places etc and washing our hands often.
Whenever I drive my car and hear the song Blinding lights by the Weeknd it always reminds me of those days during lockdown when Covid-19 had started ravaging the world and many cities around the world were left deserted and empty as people were forced to stay at home to contain the pandemic. I hope we are not going back into lockdown but I cannot dismiss the possibility. Only time can tell. Life is short.
Taman Tasik Shah Alam
Read more...
