Covid-19 in Malaysia: Scenes that touched Malay Mail's photographers, Part 2

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 ― Malaysia went into its first lockdown two years ago today. Shops, offices, airports, our borders... everything closed.

Our photographers went all over the city to show us what was happening throughout the lockdowns, reopenings and everything in between.

But which were the pictures that touched them the most? The scenes that stood out for them.

Over the next three days, we will share these pictures with you. Here Ahmad Zamzahuri (with the help of reporter R. Loheswar) tells us why these three pictures moved him the most:

An empty Federal Highway

As a photographer I am always on the go, needing to reach my destination as soon as possible. That is why 99 per cent of us in the industry travel by motorcycle.

This allows us to duck and weave through traffic to get to our assignments quickly.

During the first movement control order (MCO) everyone had to stay at home meaning there were no vehicles on the road. This was something I had never seen in my life. The silence was indeed deafening.

I took the picture at the top of this story not just because it was so rare to see the Federal Highway empty. It made me think of all the people stuck at home in the most congested city in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

Seeing a major highway devoid of any vehicles is something we may never see again.

The authorities cordoned off the area with barbed wire and had 24-hour guards there to make sure no one left the area. ― Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

Meeting across barbed wires during EMCO in Pudu

Enhanced movement control orders (EMCOs) at the start of the pandemic lockdown saw entire neighbourhoods cut off from the rest of the city.

The EMCO in Pudu meant residents could not go out to get their daily necessities, especially food. The authorities cordoned off the area with barbed wire and had 24-hour guards there to make sure no one left the area.

Whenever I visited these areas, I was always touched to see how people came together to help residents with whatever they needed.

This picture shows a young woman throwing a bag of groceries to a man living within the cordoned-off area.

These healthcare workers were in charge of burying those who died from Covid-19 during the second wave that was from February 27 until June 30, 2021. ― Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

Fatigue did not stop these frontliners burying those who died from Covid-19

This is the picture that had the biggest impact on me. These healthcare workers were in charge of burying those who died from Covid-19 during the second wave that was from February 27 until June 30, 2021.

The death rate was always in double digits daily and I saw so many dead bodies coming into the cemetery causing chaos at the burial place.

Nevertheless these frontliners worked tirelessly.