MALAYSIA is once again facing a strict movement control order. Although this lockdown has been set for two weeks, it could easily last up to six weeks. If that happens, it means the lockdown will ease at the earliest in July. It is a bitter pill Malaysians need to swallow, given the number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths due.
We must be aware that this pandemic not only affects economic activities but also the future of Malaysia’s human capital. The crisis will ease when we reach herd immunity with vaccinations, which would be, at best, by the end of 2021, or if not, by the middle of 2022. By then, most Malaysian students will have failed to physically attend school for at least two years. Most first-year students in primary school or even first-year tertiary level students have not been to schools or colleges and universities since day one.