EVEN before the announcement by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin of the new measures that the government would take to curb the rapid spread of Covid-19 in the community, the term “MCO 2.0” was trending on social media. With some knowledge of what to expect, individuals and businesses alike should seek out the opportunities during this crisis – the proverbial silver lining that comes with solving problems for consumers during challenging times. Moving forward, what are the strategies that will grow the economy during this critical time of disruption? To understand this there is a need to look at the recent lessons learnt from “MCO 1.0”, which turned out to be a good teacher. Hindsight is 2020 and last year is purpose fit for the task. In the first few days of the MCO 1.0, it was clear that the strategic approach driving the overall thinking was that of “survive first and thrive second”. While not an official doctrine, it can be observed that there are three circles forming a critical decision-making framework.

THE Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) is delighted to note that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has been given conditional approval by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.

MALAYSIA is currently undergoing four major crises: the Covid-19 pandemic is raging through the nation, with case numbers increasing at a frightening rate; there is ongoing political uncertainty and, hence, national instability; there is a very serious economic slowdown threatening a recession; and there are unsettled socially divisive issues that could disrupt the harmony of this beautiful nation.

HATE speech in Malaysia tends to evolve around race and religion. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been some that were directed at foreign workers/illegal migrants. Some started with pointing fingers at the initial outbreak, blaming it on tourists’ from China.

I REFER to two articles by Datuk John Lo in “Inside Out” on Dec 27, 2020 titled “Courting Good Investment is not for the amateurs” followed by “Time certainty, sensitivity and Sabah’s econ” on Jan 3, 2021. Both were very well written, factual and very telling.  Lo must have taken time to carry out research for facts and figures.  Hopefully Sabah leaders both government and non-government will read and take note of these two articles to enable them to consider and implement whatever is necessary in the interest of the Sabah economy (wealth).

ON Jan 1, Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong announced in a joint statement that the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project has been terminated, after both countries failed to reach agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia by the deadline of Dec 31.

AS parents know, Malaysian students’ learning in 2020 was disrupted twice, in March and October, when physical classes were cancelled to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 cases. In the months-long absence of face-to-face learning, online “teaching and learning from home” (pengajaran dan pembelajaran dari rumah, PDPR) was conducted to continue the education of primary and secondary level students nationwide.

FORM Three students in my school had to fill in their application forms for their desired streams two weeks ago. As we were confined to our homes due to the Covid-19 conditional movement control order, we joined a Google Meet hosted by the school to explain the packages offered.

LIFE after retirement is hard, especially in today’s context. With numerous reports in the press about “rising inflationary costs” and “longer lifespans”, it wouldn’t be surprising that the average Malaysian is wondering if she/he can officially retire at the supposedly “comfortable” age of 60.

THE opinion piece by one Joe Fernandez in the Daily Express Sunday, Dec 27 is misleading and confusing.  As such this will once again give false hope to Sabahans.