JUNE 17 — Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal two days ago in the 3-0 taming of Hungary was a team goal of rare beauty.
To witness Portugal’s win "live" were more than 67,000 fans. Dancing, screaming, hugging, living.
To witness the fans were Euro2020’s global audience of hundreds of millions — mesmerised by Budapest’s crowded Puskas Stadium in a time of Covid-19.
Has Hungary found the pandemic’s cure, or have they merely learnt to manage it?
Malaysians watching the spectacle cannot be blamed for wondering when that will be us.
Not having a world conquering football team, but a return to normalcy.
Inevitable to draw comparisons, Hungary’s present with our new four phase recovery plan which was announced the same day of the match.
Asking, if we are doing it wrong? As Hungarians bask in Europe’s summer sun, with Portuguese tourists.
The central European country, in early May, had 100 deaths daily on average, similar to Malaysia now. The last time they were above 4,000 new cases — our hurdle to stage two in the newly proposed recovery plan — was April 18 (4,355).
The partying in the stadium was not unexpected since Prime Minister Viktor Orban re-opened Hungary on May 21 when they hit 50 per cent vaccination rate. No masks, shops opened and now Euro2020 carries on.
A future breakout is less in their hands as the landlocked country of under 10 million people borders seven countries — Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Serbia. But they do not evade from deciding to move forward, how else to live as a society?
The quickness of the transition is what Malaysia should pay heed to. They moved from high numbers to lower numbers through vaccination and information. The virus is still there, it’s just being managed.
The plan
Here, after persistent demands for an exit strategy from the Covid-era controls and restrictions, the government of the day produced a short document.
The overall duration and phase transitions invite derision. We are in phase one now, and only a 10 per cent vaccination rate coupled with lower than 4,000 daily cases will elevate us to phase two, prescribed no quicker than August. But the next phase is only about more economic activities, not social ones. Gyms and bars must wait till September.
By then, our social spaces, restaurants and cineplexes would have been shut for almost four months or a third of 2021. Only when vaccination hits 80 per cent and less than 500 new cases daily does phase four or normal life begin in November.
The European Business Chamber welcomed the plan but labelled it conservative. They represent industry dealing with the government, therefore diplomacy is paramount. They hold back the strong language.
Regular voters do not have to and they are not amused.
They say it is too slow, too mired in politics and too immersed in self-interest.
How many of the plan’s architects have the real risk of losing their jobs or their livelihoods in the next month?
They appear to give themselves a lot of wriggle room so that whatever the outcome, the government has not underdelivered. Tell restaurants to open in September and when they are opened earlier, then claim credit for exceeding expectations.
There’s a slippery slope in that.
Because this is real life. Businesses are closing left and right. The thought of two and half months more of no restaurant dine-ins, cineplex patrons or bar regulars, might force owners to capitulate. SMEs do not pack up and start over whenever the government is ready to accommodate. They need assurances and they require leadership.
Yet Malaysia’s government fails to be adept.
It plays enforcer only, and is absolutely disinterested to be a cheerleader. The fundamental indifference of our system to commerce is coming to the fore.
Look at another critical element, the plan speaks about inter-state travel and domestic tourism earliest by November.
Did these policy thinkers bother to ask how heart-breaking the prognosis is to the rakyat? The ministers never stopped travelling but life in the federation has come to a standstill. The emotional burden of waiting another six months to drive to hometowns may drive many mad.
It’s the overall outlook which murders.
No shops and no movements for too long risks castrating our economy.
My friend picked up a Grab passenger this week who paid RM5 to get to the ATM to withdraw RM10 for her starving children. It broke his heart. The customer instead became the recipient as my already-struggling pal forked out RM80 and bought groceries for the family.
Anecdotal, yes, but there are too many similar stories circulating to sweep them under the rug. The policymakers need to worry about the people rather than giving themselves margins for error.
It’s nice to preach discipline when others have to adhere and be judged with fines, but not those who preach.
Vaccinated
What do we give to those already vaccinated?
The decision to allow more than 125,000 companies to operate in the lockdown was predicated on measuring risk-rewards to the economy.
If the pandemic turns endemic and becomes part of life and something to be managed, why not let workspaces — essential or not — operate if everyone is vaccinated?
Take this further and allow sports and dine-in for those with protection, even if only a single dose.
After all the vaccinated have low chances of being infected — if they catch it, the severity is reduced. They won’t overload our health facilities.
It’ll ratchet vaccination signup rates. The incentive to access life’s joy if vaccinated would tempt even the most hesitant.
Agility
In two weeks, Phuket opens to foreign tourists. It’s a sandbox stratagem. A self-contained area of vaccinated tourists and 70 per cent of the locals likewise. Holidaymaking can happen and an economy is fed without turning into an infection hotbed.
In theory, but the science backs them. So, they open.
Bali and Vietnam’s Phu Quoc are expected to follow suit.
Would Redang, Perhentian, Sipadan, Tioman or Langkawi replicate?
Tourism is only one segment, but it is one which displays the ineptness of our policy makers to have broad and myriad solutions and adjustments operating simultaneously.
Many things have to be done concurrently to have an overall positive outcome.
Otherwise the vast structure stays neutral, expecting the core initiatives — vaccination and healthcare capacity — to reach fruition before acting.
Our overly centralised power structure and its cabal on top remain rigid and firmly behind the global curve for a country of Malaysia’s stature.
By mid-July there will be a celebration in Europe regardless of whether Portugal retains the cup. One of the European capitals will host a victory parade. It’s premature for us to go that far down that quickly, but the current suggested pace infuriates and even without this column it is bound for an adjustment.
And then, another adjustment before long. Because it is, stealing from the Eurocham, conservative and that’s not a good thing. If dissected carefully. A continuously amended exit strategy is not flexible, just poorly constructed.
Worse, it embellishes uncertainty and fear in our midst, and that’s not the path to recovery.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
