Sin Chew Daily

The coronavirus has ravaged the country for more than a year now, severely bruising our economy and market, and sending SMEs and ordinary people struggling to stay alive.

It is hard for the economy to recover with one after another round of movement control orders thrown into place. Many people have almost emptied all their lifelong savings, some pushed to the edge of starvation.

Although the government has introduced several rounds of assistance packages but these will never be sufficient and will not address their long-term woes.

In short, over the past more than a year, many are struggling under tremendous pressure, especially those in the lower income group.

Nevertheless, even in the midst of darkness we have seen the glories of humanity bringing a ray of hope to the destitute. While such efforts may not completely dispel the gloom from the pandemic, at least they have lit up the light of hope!

The many mutual help campaigns initiated by ordinary Malaysians have fully manifested the caring and loving spirit of humanity, in particular the "raise a white flag" initiative that has offered timely assistance to people who are really in need of it while disseminating a positive energy across our society.

We all have our problems in the face of the gruesome pandemic, albeit at different levels of devastation. While some can still live with dignity, others are finding it increasingly hard to put food on the table.

Although many have jeered at our society for being growingly apathetic, we have seen through this pandemic that there is always warmth and love all around us.

After those plunged into survival crisis have raised their white flags, help have come their way very quickly, showing that many in our society still care.

In JB, some who has lost his source of income raised a white flag, and help started to pour in in just an hour. RM1,600 was raised to help him settle unpaid rents, while daily necessities arrived to take him and his family out of famine. And this is just one of many similar instances.

In addition, many other organizations have taken the initiative to distribute the necessities to the needy, as food banks are set up everywhere. Companies are also discharging their social duties by offering a hand to those in need.

Meanwhile, the government has already allocated RM300,000 for each elected MP for the "food basket assistance program" which is believed to momentarily relieve the burden of those impacted by the pandemic crisis.

While the pandemic has shown us its ugly face, thankfully there are still many who have displayed a high degree of human merits and generosity that will serve as a booster for the distressed families to go on living, with the hope all this will become a thing of the past very soon.

Beginning Monday, the five states of Perlis, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang will move into the second phase of the national recovery plan that marks the first step towards the goal of full recovery.

It is hoped that other states will also put the pandemic under control and join the afore-mentioned states in the second phase so that we can slowly free ourselves from the shackles of the virus and revert to the life we used to enjoy.

The national immunization program is being carried out in full force at this moment. According to science, technology and innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin, we will take delivery of more than 12 million vaccine doses this month so that we can administer an average of 300,000 doses a day. With the expedited vaccination rate, coupled with effective government measures and full SOP compliance from the public, we believe we will move on to the next phase of our recovery plan sooner than expected.

Let's cling on to this spirit of helping one another through this unprecedented crisis as we join hands to defeat the virus to bring back the life we have all missed so much.