By Ravindran Raman Kutty

While COVID-19 is at the main stage, political encumbrances are equally fighting for a place on the stage.

The stage is further populated with the social media displacement of WhatsApp with Telegram and Signal. A disease pandemic, political instability and social media war are three stories, filling the media pages on print and viral.

The government has issued a Movement Control Order (MCO) and also mandated a curfew to flatten the COVID curve till August 2021.

The MCO has become easy for most Malaysians, as we have been under this siege for the past ten months since March 2020.

Most Malaysians are sensitized to the fact that we must use face masks, wash and sanitize our hands, and are quite well behaved by queuing up at supermarkets or bus stops.

The announcement of a curfew sparked fear and worry at first, but with its implementation, it now looks more like a political propaganda than a social step.

As responsible citizens, it is expected of us to observe every standard operating policy (SOP) item in our battle against COVID-19.

To date, 601 people have died.

China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts that there could be more than five million deaths due to COVID-19 this year, far worse than 2020.

Malaysia is under siege by the rising number of going beyond 4,000 (as of Jan 16, 2021). The third wave is very scary as the frontliners at the hospital are struggling to meet with the rising numbers of patients.

The curfew, which was added to contain COVID-19, shall also help in containing the movement of people across states or any travel more than a 10km radius from their respective homes.

It is hoped that with this condition, minimized movement would somehow minimize the spread of the virus.

COVID-19 is a lesson for everyone. President Kaguta Museveni of Uganda summed it well, "The world is currently in a state of war. A war without guns and bullets; a war without human soldiers; a war without borders; a war without ceasefire agreements; a war without a war room; a war without sacred zones. It is an invisible, fleetfooted, and ruthlessly effective army."

We can only defeat COVID-19 by collective action, discipline and forbearance.

It cannot survive social and physical distancing. Let's be more cautious in controlling the virus.

The Ministry of Health and the medical fraternity must be commended for their tireless effort and stamina in relentlessly attending to, treating and curing COVID-19 cases in our country.

The political encumbrances have been ongoing since the 2018 elections. The curse grew worse since Feb 24, 2020, after Tun Dr Mahathir's resignation. The "Sheraton Move" brought in Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the 8th prime minister on March 1. And since then, there has been no easy passage for any politician or political leader in our country.

There have been several meetings with Agong and to date the political instability has yet to be resolved.

If COVID-19 is a pandemic, our political circuit is going through a tsunami.

This political tsunami is sweeping the investors far away to Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and India.

We are losing the traction from investors ever since our political tsunami started. Currently with the pandemic, it has gotten worse, though our finance minister has been struggling to give assurance that we are gaining control, but the truth is something else.

Malaysia has everything. We have the most beautiful beaches, resorts, hills and a fabulous infrastructure supported by a living cost which is very reasonable compared to most countries in the region.

Our multicultural, multilingual, multiethnic composition, coupled with good education and excellent infrastructure, is no more attractive as Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam are more politically stable.

Looking at the unemployment rate which seems to have remained stagnant between 4.6% and 4.7% for the past few months, it is possible that the number of unemployed persons will continue to increase in 2021 if the government's plan under Budget 2021, such as JanaKerja, MySTEP and extension of wage subsidy program fail to materialize in the beginning of 2021.

FDI in Malaysia registered a lower net inflow of RM2.2 billion as against RM6.4 billion in Q1 2020.

These are bleak signs, but we can shape and reshape our nation if our political masters drop their ego, positions and powers in the interest of our nation and people.

The people are suffering. The effects of the pandemic have placed Malaysians–the vulnerable and the poor–in a particularly precarious position.

An enhanced social protection system and continued role-sharing between the government and civil society will help eradicate poverty, foster equity, and promote resilience within the economy, states the World Bank Economic Report.

The final issue which is of much concern to everyone today is the mass migration of WhatsApp users to Telegram and Signal.

More than 25 million new users have joined Telegram and Signal, touching a million downloads daily.

Malaysia has more than 41 million mobile connections as of 2020. This move from WhatsApp to Telegram and Signal has caused much anxiety and concern among the users.

Various individuals and companies have done several analyses, and juggled pros and cons to justify or support the move.

For the ordinary Joe on the street, this is of no concern, but for some companies and high-end users, the WhatsApp announcement that allows Facebook to advertise and profile the users, has certainly irritated WhatsApp users.

When asked by a friend for my views on the matter, my response was, "Technology always disrupts the normal lifestyle of all. If you choose to use the technology, the technologists or the company developing it will always want to cash in on it."

This is the price we must pay, and this is exactly what is taking place. Our transition to Signal or Telegram is only temporary until Zuckerberg buys them over.

Malaysia must quickly learn from these three milestone activities or actions that are changing our political, social and technological landscape. Either we change to the fast-moving world or are prepared to be changed.

Vision 2020 was supposed to make us a developed nation. If we do not settle our political differences, we will never see the light at the end of the tunnel called progress.

If we do not discipline ourselves, we will never come out of COVID-19. If we are not sensitive to the technological advancements that are happening around us, we will be pushed to a corner called the dark ages.

Malaysians and Malaysia need a tremendous change. First on the agenda is to change the political fiasco. Second, change the mindset of every Malaysian. Stop thinking as Malays, Chinese, Indians, Dayaks, Kadazans or Ibans individually. Let's think as Malaysians.

Youths make up 45% of the total population. The youth must rise and make a change to the current old political mindset and the aging politicians.

New technologies must be adopted. More artificial intelligence (AI) focused programs must be added to our educational system.

More FDIs will flow in once the above is put in place. We need a new renaissance to bring our sinking nation to the shore.

(Ravindran Raman Kutty is an active social worker.)