Another Ramadan is here (1441H)

I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw that the last time I updated this blog was last Ramadan. Now another Ramadan is here. The past year has been quite tumultuous but things are much more peaceful and calm right now, at least for me.

As I am writing this, it is the fourth day of the Phase 4 Movement Control Order imposed on Malaysians to control the spread of Covid 19. I have been spending the MCO days in Perlis. We got here a day before Phase 1 MCO began and decided to stay here until the end of the MCO. Little did we know that the MCO would be extended until the 4th phase, totalling 8 weeks in all.

Why didn’t we go back? The first phase of the MCO, things were quite chaotic. We failed to get refunds for our flight tickets. We were meant to travel back to KK right after the midterm school holiday ends. We’ve got friends who experienced the same thing and tried to get new tickets. Those who managed to purchase tickets experienced multiple delays (days) and that deterred me from getting new tickets. Some also shared their experiences entering Sabah as Sabah Immigration (under the jurisdiction of the state government) flexed their muscles to exercise entry rights. Families were separated because some of them weren’t born in Sabah. Some were stranded in the airport terminal, unable to go anywhere. During the second week of the first phase MCO, a friend managed to go back but had to go through strict procedures. Others were asked to spend time in quarantine centres, those who were returning overseas. Since I will be travelling with young children, I have decided to hold off travel until the MCO ends.

There were many things going on during the MCOs. The most significant ones were widespread condemnation of super spreaders (of Covid19) on the net. I was also very upset to find out that there were many people who weren’t taking appropriate precautions even as Covid19 becomes a global pandemic. Then there were so much fear, even the Rohingya suddenly became a national issue with a lot of hate speech going their way. I have not had personal experience with any Rohingya but I was quite surprised with the vitriol’s directed towards them. It made me think that there were hidden agendas or if there are certain parties taking advantages of people’s fears to encourage hate towards Rohingyas. 

The MCO also heightened or rather highlighted the socio-economic disparities in the Malaysian society. A lot of people doesn’t have a safety net, jobs were lost and many are struggling to put food on the table. The plights of people living on the fringes of society came to light. The stateless people, the Rohingya and even the orang asal. In Sabah the stateless is really a time bomb for Covid19 because they might not have the courage to seek help when they are unwell or to get tested. They often live in cramped and unsanitary (houses without proper plumbing & waste management) conditions. The ones we see flouting are them, those who lives on the fringes, desperate to look for ways to survive. Another thing, there seemed to be inconsistent enforcement of the law when it comes to VIPs who flouted the MCO. 

Despite the gloom, Malaysian have come to band together to overcome the crisis. There were news reports of universities, colleges and even prisons making PPE for the frontlines. A lot of NGOs are distributing aid. Regular people are volunteering to organise aid distribution. It’s not all dark and gloomy. 

I didn’t mean to write so much about Covid19. Yesterday, our PM just announced that this phase of the MCO will be much less strict than the previous ones. The infection number is still double digits but I think the government is hard pressed to resume economic activities. I am still uncomfortable with the thought of going out and travelling these days. I am still not sure when i will be able to go back. It all depends on when the MOE will reopen schools or call teachers to go back to work.

So, this is the view from where I am writing. Despite the crisis, its a blessing to be able to spend time with my family. This is the longest time I have spent in Perlis. I never got to stay more that one month here. It’s nice to be able to cook together, share the housework and getting reacquainted with one another. I have never realised that one of my sister is a real yoga enthusiast and I got to do yoga because of her. Another one of my sister is really sharp and witty, I only see her as intelligent before. My youngest sister is really disciplined with things she’s passionate about but I discovered that she’s really good at housework too. Another one of my sister is really a quick worker, that I already know, but she’s also nuts abut cleaning and tidying up (never realised this when we were growing up). The biggest surprise is my brother, the typical gamer students, is the one who managed to teach my son  iqra, consistently ever night after tarawih. Thank you sisters and brother. I don’t know when we will have so much time together again. 

I hope the remaining Ramadan will bring much more blessings to my family, the nation and those of you who took the time to read right up to the end of my quite long post.