MCO = More Confusing Orders

Fahmi’s back!

First up, we’d like to welcome back our artist-in-residence, Fahmi Reza. We weren’t sure he’d be able to continue working with us following his arrest and seizure of all his equipment (read all about that royal mess here). Heck, cops even seized his Twitter account (you can follow his backup account @fahmirezakl).

But they can take away the man’s computer, but not his pen. So Fahmi’s gone old school, illustrating today’s panel by hand. It’s good to have you back, bro! 

Now back to regular ‘Kita Semua Penghasut’ programming…

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Three. Tiga, Sān, Mundru. That’s the number of movement control orders a large part of the country’s been subjected to since this bloody pandemic reached our shores.

You’d think having two MCOs in less than a year under their collective belts, PM Muhyiddin Yassin and his current PN gomen could run another one blindfolded by now.

Well, they got the blind part right, at least.

Since MCO 3.0’s been announced in Kelantan, Selangor, KL and several other parts of the country, Malaysians, already frustrated with the up again, down again and now up again Covid cases (we’ve lost track if we’re in the 3rd wave or 4th), are once more subjected to inconsistent, confusing and at times, illogical SOPs.

Case in point? The powers that be have allowed Ramadan and Aidilfitri bazaars and pasar malam to operate in MCO areas — subject to state authorities’ approval — even hair salons and will allow family home visits during Hari Raya, but are not permitting gyms and dine-in restaurants. Heck, up until last night, you weren’t even allowed to jog/cycle/speed walk alone out in the open or exercise in the park, unless you count power walking to take away food lah!

You can be sure that got the attention of doctors, who were quick to call out the sheer lunacy of the move. It didn’t take long for our knights in the Youth and Sports Ministry to say its minister’ll be appealing the ban with the National Security Council (NSC) folks.

Isn’t the ministry part of the same gomen? Was this not discussed before? Also, did we not go through all of this during the previous lockdowns? May we remind you, PM Moo, it was you who said during MCO 2.0 that outdoor sporting activities are crucial for the rakyat’s physical and mental health?

Also, also, in a case of the left hand truly not knowing what the right hand is doing, deputy sports minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal tweeted a passionate defence for the barring of outdoor exercise. 

And then, a classic U-turn — the ministry’s now announced outdoor recreational activities will be allowed after all from today, with strict SOPs, of course. 🤦🤦

MooMoo, we get it. Under the circumstances, MCO 3.0 seems necessary. But this isn’t your first rodeo, lah uncle! You saw fit to implement multiple lockdowns and invoked a state of emergency, supposedly to kick Covid in the nuts and bring cases down. So far, the only thing that’s come down is our youth’s (and likely everybody else’s!) faith in our elected politicos.

In case you haven’t heard, we’re near to recording 5,000 daily Covid cases once more. Is it any wonder that the rakyat’s cry on Twitterjaya has gone from #KitaJagaKita, to #RakyatJagaRakyat, to #SiBodohKauDengarSini and finally, to #KerajaanGagal?

Didn’t get Fahmi’s previous artworks and our commentaries on the #SiBodohKauDengarSini and #KerajaanGagal tags that inspired us all? Well, go on and click here and here!

So perhaps it’s time for you and your merry crew to remove your hands from your eyes, ears and mouths and see the current sitch for what it is, listen to the rakyat’s plight and ask yourselves, how you can do better.

Hopefully, the third time’s a charm.