By Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily

On the first day of MCO relaxation, I made up my mind to go out and have a look.

The road block at the road corner was already removed and there were more cars than usual but still just about half of pre-MCO days.

I went first to an established coffee chain store and was the day's first customer as from their customer record book.

The manageress came up to greet me personally, and told me in advance only takeaway was allowed. No dining in service.

It was slight disappointment for me as I couldn't get to sit down there to enjoy my favorite beverage leisurely, but this is new normal that I must adapt myself to and therefore happily accepted.

With the cup of coffee in my hand, I walked into the mall. When I was here several days ago for essential shopping, only the supermarket was open for business while most other shops were closed. The entire place was dim and somewhat gloomy.

But now, the mall was brightly lit and the air-con was on, although most of the shops were under-patronized.

At lunchtime, I walked into a restaurant which used to be packed with diners before the MCO. But now, it was only half open, and the boss whom I know was seen handling some paperwork inside.

I said "Hi" to him and asked him why he did not open the shop for business.

"Hey, Tay, business is real tough now. If I open for business now, I will only lose more money."

I asked, "Why? Your shop is popular with gluttons and shouldn't have problem getting patrons if you open again."

He sighed, "If I open for business, I can only cut 20% cost at most, but based on the SOP safe social distance, I can only put a few tables in here, and even if they are all filled up, I only have 50% of business.

"Moreover, many customers rather pack the food knowing that they are required to leave their particulars with the shop.

"I think I would rather wait for another week or two."

After half a day of observation, I could conclude that Malaysians are generally cautious about the relaxation of MCO rules. Not everyone is rushing out from their homes except those who really need to work or start their businesses.

Both shop owners and consumers are equally cautious as they prioritize their own safety. Many business owners have adopted a wait-and-see attitude instead of rushing to get back to business, while consumers are spending more conservatively now to prepare for rainy days ahead.

On the first day of conditional MCO, business activities were subdued but surprisingly pawn shops across the country were seeing long queues of people of different ethnicities. This shows that the virus has taken a toll on the low to middle segment of the Malaysian society irrespective of race.

When approached by the media, a cleaner said she had no income during the past one month and a half while the government allowance had yet to reach her. In order to buy medicine for her child, she had no choice but to pawn her jewelries for some cash.

On May 4, we did not see thriving business but desolation.

Many people have grumbled about the government's rushy decision to open up economic sectors, creating more confusion in doing so, arguing that this might bring on a second wave of coronavirus infections. Others claim that the economy must be restarted soonest before it lies flat and dies.

As I said earlier, there is no absolute answer to this question. We will only know whether the decision has been right or wrong after we have started doing something.

But what is certain is that the virus is not going to go away tomorrow; nor will our economy back on its feet again very soon.

The challenges ahead are going to be huge, and our future remains a big unknown.

It will be a long, long road in front of us, and we must stay united and walk down each step together with caution.