A season of darkness

A few weeks ago, all of us had a daily routine. Parents, students, singles and even retirees had a set pattern each would follow stanchly on weekdays and weekends.

View of a section of the clear Causeway and
Johor Baru skyline with the Johor Straits and
Singapore coastline in the background.

Some may need an alarm to wake you up but many have a natural body-clock that woke you up daily at the appointed time to carry out the routine to get yourself washed, fed and ready to leave for work, school, morning walk/jog or regular meet-up with old cronies in that favourite food-court, mamak-shop or kopitiam.

Office workers in the cities made it a point to leave their houses at a precise time to catch that bus or train, or to join the cars on the expressway because just a five-minute delay could mean a lot of difference (Read: late!) in their arrival time.

There was a regular pattern with office workers heading to workplaces, teachers and students going to schools, homemakers doing their fresh market shopping and retirees going to hang out with their chums over breakfast and brewed coffee.

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I know of people who have beautifully appointed kitchens, but they hardly do any cooking because they have a habit of eating out and don’t even have breakfast at home.

Some prefer to buy their favourite brew of coffee and have it on the go as they head into their workplace while some will reach the office and go out with their colleagues for a bite.

From early hours, the food-courts, warungs, food kiosks and cafés would be teeming with people, buying takeaways and grabbing a bite for breakfast to kick-start their day.

All this came to a screeching halt on March 18 when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was put in place and enforced for two weeks.

By observing and learning from the experiences of other nations similarly affected by the Covid19 virus, the authorities implemented similar measures in a brave attempt to break the chain of infection in our own communities.

Crowd at entrance of supermarket, waiting for doors to open;
Shot was taken early in MCO before Physical Distancing
came into force.

In a matter of hours, everything changed. We were instructed to stay at home while only the heads of families were permitted to go out to buy food and essential items.

The Stay Home Notice (SHN) is a government regulation many were struggling to adhere to simply because it has never happened to them before.

From senior family members who survived World War Two, I learnt about the curfew enforcement during wartimes when people were required to remain indoors within specified hours, especially at night.

They told me about the strict enforcement where people were prohibited from going out and if one was caught out during the curfew without written permission, it was to risk severe punishment.

The curfew was implemented during wartimes for the good of the public because there was danger of enemies, spies and subversive elements lurking around, often under the cover of darkness.

Physical Distancing spots marked out
inside an elevator to keep passengers apart!

Now wartime metaphors are being used to describe this global war against the Covid19 pandemic because this vicious virus is an unseen enemy which seems hard to defeat.

Suddenly, national security is about fighting in unison to protect the population against a virus which is highly contagious and spreading like wildfire within communities.

Our vocabulary quickly expanded as we learnt the meanings of words and phrases like epidemic, pandemic, work-from-home, contact tracing and social distancing, among other key words currently in use.

Most people understood why the authorities had to implement the MCO and they readily cooperated by staying home to break the chain of infection in the community.

It was a welcome opportunity for families to make the best of their time together with bonding over meals, doing (and completing!) long-delayed household projects, baking, gardening, reading and simply chilling out with much needed rest.

I gave my dog a grooming session

Aware that many would be watching television, the programming divisions of cable television channels deliberately included popular Hollywood movies like Contagion and Outbreak, maybe to give viewers a glimpse at how a disease or virus could spread due to human errors and carelessness.

Meanwhile inconsiderate and recalcitrant people have been flouting the MCO with adults, youths and children in the parks or jogging while some were driving around on the pretext of going shopping for essentials.

Some elderly folks – probably due to force of habit – still went out for breakfast and coffee at their regular shops and were duly confronted by law enforcement officers.

Stubborn people who have an it-would-not-happen-to-me attitude, thought they were invincible and go out without a valid reason, flouting the MCO and giving the authorities additional work.

Our family stayed in touch with
modern technology

The healthcare system, that includes professionals and equipment, are already stretched by an increasing number of confirmed infections and it will only a matter of time before their manpower and facilities could no longer cope with the number of patients.

Modern technology is keeping us updated with reports of happenings throughout the world and the flood of information is both overwhelming and depressing as we learn about the increasing number of confirmed infections and deaths.

In some nations, uniformed personnel from the army and firefighters, are helping to deliver food, collect bodies and transport them for burial.

Because the end of this deadly pandemic is still nowhere in sight, a wise decision was reached for the MCO to be extended for a further two weeks until April 14, with stricter enforcement like fines and jail terms for offenders.

An appeal for help from Kechara Soup
Kitchen on Day 27 of the MCO in JB

With these challenges and changes happening around us, it is heartwarming that selfless individuals, volunteers and NGOs in Johor remain unchanged in their commitment to providing practical help by supplying food and shelter to the needy and homeless.

Recognised for their exemplary social work, the Iskandar Malaysia Social Heroes are working in their own areas to support the vulnerable during the MCO and shining a ray of hope through this sad season of darkness.

From the daily updates on the Health Ministry’s colour-coded maps that list the nationwide distribution of Covid19 cases recorded by district, we saw that cases in the Red Zones in Kluang and JB in Johor, ranked as high as sixth and seventh as at mid-day on Friday, April 10.

On the advice of the Health Ministry, the authorities wisely announced on April 10, another extension of the MCO until April 28 to keep the community at home to break the chain of infection.

Info provided by Sinar Harian publication

As the number of people being infected are escalating, communities both local and global, are slowly waking up to the reality that this is serious.

In addition to the Police, the Armed Forces and even the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) are being roped in to support the enforcement of the MCO.

While you may feel helpless and restless, just waiting for the MCO to be over, give serious thought to the front-liners who are working hard and risking their lives to care for the sick.

But if you can contribute in one way or another, in supporting charities for the less privileged or to do volunteer work, please step forward. Just reach out to the charity of your choice now.

Meanwhile fellow Johoreans, let us stay home and stay safe. This is our contribution in helping to break the chain of infection here and in helping to win this fight against the unseen enemy.