The coronavirus COVID-19 hit Malaysia early this year and after several quarrels among the politicians, the (new) government announce Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 2020. It was a drastic measure where everyone MUST stay at home and only go out if needed. There were people against the measurement taken by the government but many Malaysian shows solidarity and support to the government and especially to the front liners.
With the active cases going down to 2 digits, recovery percentage start to go up, the government began to loosen up some restriction and sets a condition for Malaysian to resume activities and open up several sectors to restart the economy but still with restriction that been put into place. This stage of MCO was touted as Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO). The CMCO is a part of the plan in many stage towards the country full recovery.
On 7th June 2020, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and it’s government loosen up more restriction as the trend for new cases remain at double digits but we did receive few shockwave where positive cases spike to more than 100-200 a couple of time. Health DG said we should not worry and it has been taken care of. The new cases remain double digits afterwards. What is allowed now is that Malaysian can travel between states, businesses such as open market, commercial can now be resume and school will be open in stages. This stage of MCO is touted as Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) where the government wants Malaysian to resume their normal activities but still adhere to the SOP when entering buildings and keep social distancing not lesser than 1 meter. The RMCO is expect to end on 31th August 2020.
With all the the good things that happen with restrictions loosen up, what are the things that I will miss when MCO is over?
No Traffic, No Jam
I hate traffic jam. Driving from my condo to a store 5km apart can take up to 20minutes! Because there are a lot of condo and landed houses surrounding the area and there are people driving to work. With MCO, There’s a very few cars on road. Going to grocery store nearby felt awesome because of no traffic at all!
For work, driving distance from my condo is within 22km. Pre-MCO, I would need around 50 minutes to 1 hour to arrive. With CMCO, I am able arrive within 20 minutes! Such a huge differences and I don’t need to wake up early to beat the jam!
As of the date of this writing, the traffic jam is very close to Pre-MCO already!
Moratorium
Ah, the 6 months of not paying the loans were a nice thing. Many of my friends (including myself) able to save up A LOT of cash. It became less stress and more joy to see our savings or investments increase. And with the moratorium, many Malaysian start to put their money into Robo-Advisor or Stock Market. It is the best chance for Malaysian to get rich.
The 6 months moratorium are catching up. As Malaysian that opt for moratorium will need to continue paying the loan starting on October.
Working From Home
A lot of companies already updated their policies so their workers can Work From Home (WFH). Some companies prefer their workers to WFH in an alternate week. As a results, many workers find that WFH they tend to be more productive than working in the office because they don’t have to go through the traffic jam, and they can save more money from eating out. And because of WFH policies, companies that have been holding on video call conferences
When the world finally sort out COVID-19, companies will revert back to their old policies. But I do think some companies will set WFH as a permanent options after this which is a good thing as some profession doesn’t need you to be in the office everyday. You can be as productive working from home and working in the office.
Conclusion
COVID-19 has change many people’s lives for the better or for the worst whether you like it or not. I personally find the experiences I had in 2020 right now are way different than any previous years. We never did video call conference every single day. We rarely use technology for online collaborations. We never thought of saving more money or even investing. COVID-19 single-handedly change all that.
Don’t get me wrong, COVID-19 is a dangerous virus. People should always stay cautious and wear mask when went outside!
