Politicians tango, Malaysia grieves

https://youtu.be/nYSqwi8qY7w

In the later years of my school life, I used to attend parties thrown by my schoolmates for their birthday, or just to have some fun, at their homes, especially when their parents were away.

I learned, or rather tried, a few types of dances at these parties. There was the jive, the fox-trot, the waltz, the shake and the funky chicken (yeah, there was such a dance). Those of us who didn’t know any dance would just – as they say – go with the flow.

And man, when you have Creedence Clearwater Revival or Deep Purple singing on your vinyl, you can flow any which way.

The twist was still around, although not as popular, and there was the tango.

I was never good at tango, but a few of my friends were. The tango has some very sharp movements but it’s largely a kind of walking dance. Good tango dancers exhibit exceptionally fluid and fast movements, and it can be sensual.

The dancers – the “lead” and the “follow” – mirror each other’s steps, with the leader initiating the moves and the follower maintaining this movement.

The tango also has something called “backleading” which happens when the follower moves without waiting for, or contrary to, the leader’s initiatives. A stronger form of this is called “hijacking’ where the follower takes control of the dance and leads the leader.

And this, my friends, is what we are seeing in Malaysian politics – especially government politics – today.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the lead in Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan and was dancing with the feeling that he was doing it his way, not knowing that some of the followers had other ideas. Then one follower, Muhyiddin Yassin, “hijacked” the dance and Mahathir was no longer the lead.

In fact, he was not even the follower.

It was one of those daring tango moves that is so smooth and sudden, those watching it can only open their mouths and gasp or exclaim “Wow!”. In this case, many Malaysians were jolted by the shock execution of what has come to be known as the Sheraton Move.

Establishing himself as the lead, Muhyiddin and Bersatu minus Mahathir tried some slick moves of their own with a new set of followers, including Umno, but it only lasted 17 months. Umno – which had always been the lead in the national tango until it, and the Barisan Nasional coalition, lost their majority in the 2018 general election – was tired of mirroring Muhyiddin’s steps.

The lead in a tango is usually the male and Umno is full of raging male hormones, or thinks it is. So, it did a number on Muhyiddin and Bersatu by hijacking the dance to put itself back in the lead.

Umno’s nominee Ismail Sabri Yaakob is now the prime minister and the current lead. Malaysians were sorely disappointed when Ismail reappointed almost every minister who worked under Muhyiddin into his Cabinet. This is because most Malaysians consider that body of ministers a “failed Cabinet”.

And now Ismail has brought back Muhyiddin into the government as chairman of the National Recovery Council, which, we have been told, is a ministerial-level position.

Does this mean we now have two leads in the national tango? What will that do to the tango?

The chief secretary to the government, Mohd Zuki Ali, said on Sept 4 that the Cabinet had decided on the appointment because it had confidence in Muhyiddin’s ability to “spearhead the national recovery strategy to achieve the best economic impact and restore the lives of people severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Social media is full of comments and remarks about his appointment, so I won’t add anything except to say that Malaysians have been disappointed – yet again.

A citizen can be forgiven for thinking that government leaders do not seem to realise the seriousness of the situation we are in.

It doesn’t look like the Covid-19 pandemic will subside anytime soon, with our daily cases hovering around a whopping 20,000 and deaths of more than 250 a day. Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 cases per capita have surpassed that of India. Can you imagine that? We have a population of 32.7 million while India has a population of 1.3 billion, yet our per capita figures are excruciatingly painful.

On Sept 4, India had 42,618 new Covid-19 cases, with 330 deaths. Malaysia had 19,057 cases, with 362 deaths. On Sept 5, India had 42,766 new infections, with 308 deaths. Malaysia recorded 20,396 new cases with 336 deaths. On Monday, Sept 6, India reported 38,948 new cases, with 219 deaths. Malaysia had 17,352 new cases, with 272 deaths.
 

Also, most of our neighbouring countries are faring better than us.

Because of the pandemic and poorly planned and executed movement restrictions, many people are struggling to put food on the table, and businesses continue to close shop daily. Officially about 800,000 are unemployed but I’m sure the actual figure is higher. More people are expected to lose jobs and more businesses are expected to shutter in the next few months.

The Covid-19 deaths have left many families without the breadwinner and children without their parents. I keep hearing of children losing both their parents to the disease.

Suicides have increased and more people are feeling pressured, and are losing their balance. Many are worried about their future and that of their children who have missed physical school for more than a year.

And our politicians continue to tango.  

By A. KATHIRASEN

 The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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‘Silent crisis’ looms as US to end Covid-19 aid for millions of jobless

Tough times: A sign advertising job openings is seen in New York. The US economy is far from healed, with 5.3 million jobs lost to the pandemic yet to be restored and employers adding a mere 235,000 positions in August - Last year, the United States massively expanded unemployment aid as Covid-19 broke out.— Reuters pic

WASHINGTON, Sept 6 — Spending less on food. Drawing down on retirement savings. Dropping out of the workforce altogether.

Last year, the United States massively expanded unemployment aid as Covid-19 broke out. But in the coming days those benefits will end, forcing millions of jobless Americans — some of whom haven’t worked for the entire pandemic — to make hard choices about how they will get by in an economy newly menaced by the Delta variant.

“I have no idea how we would survive, just on my daughter’s income,” said Deborah Lee, an unemployed phlebotomist in Arizona who is recovering from a Covid outbreak that affected her daughter and two of her three granddaughters.

The government-funded programmes that increased weekly payments and gave aid to the long-term unemployed and freelancers were credited with keeping the United States from an even worse economic collapse last year.

In recent months they have become controversial, with some states ending them early and arguing they encouraged people not to return to jobs that Covid-19 vaccines made safe, though studies have disputed that contention.

From September 6 they will end nationwide, and while economists don’t expect them to meaningfully dent the US economy’s recovery from its 2020 debacle, they’ll undoubtedly up the pressure on the unemployed.

“I think it’s going to be an underappreciated event in the economy,” said Andrew Stettner of progressive think tank The Century Foundation, predicting that 7.5 million people will be relying on the programmes when they end.

“It’ll be kind of a silent crisis.”

‘Screwed over’

The expansion of the unemployment safety net occurred in March 2020, when Congress rushed to blunt the emerging pandemic with US$2.2 trillion (RM9.11 trillion) in spending through the CARES Act rescue package.

While never meant to be permanent, the benefits were reauthorised twice, most recently in the US$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan enacted by President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress last March.

While many in the Republican Party at first backed the programmes, by this year their lawmakers were arguing against them, and 26 states, most with Republican governors, moved to end them early in whole or in part.

A study published last month by researchers from American and Canadian universities found only modest improvements in hiring and earnings in some of those states that ended the aid early, while spending fell 20 per cent.

Meanwhile the economy is far from healed, with 5.3 million jobs lost to the pandemic yet to be restored and employers adding a mere 235,000 positions in August, according to government data released Friday.

In Delaware, Ohio, Karen Coldwell says she sends out about 10 job applications weekly but has yet to be hired. All other openings she sees are for low-wage work, the kind of jobs she held when she was younger.

At age 64 she is not yet ready to retire, but worries she’ll have to start dipping into her retirement savings once the long-term unemployment programme ends.

“There’s just nothing out there. There’s jobs, but the money’s not there anymore,” Coldwell said. Others can’t return to the workforce, even though they know the benefits that make up their only income are ending. Brooke Ganieany of The Dalles, Oregon, said she has no one to care for her toddler son if she were to find employment.

“I feel kind of screwed over,” the 21-year-old told AFP. “I feel like they’re doing this to make us have a plan and get back to reality, which is not exactly the slogan they should be using.”

Unequal damage

Those eligible will continue to receive benefits under states’ regular unemployment programmes — but the end of a US$300 extra weekly supplement means their checks are about to shrink.

“It’s going to affect it so much. I’m going to have to cut back on food,” said 58-year-old Karen Williams, an unemployed graphic designer in Pennsylvania.

Gregory Daco of Oxford Economics predicted the cut off in benefits would lower household income by US$4.2 billion per week in September, or about US$210 billion annualised for the month.

“It’s not going to be the type of shock that puts the US economy into reverse,” he said in an interview, but predicted that “lower-income families and minorities are more likely to be negatively impacted.”

Fearful of further coronavirus variants and with her daughter missing badly needed pay from the family’s battle with Covid-19, Lee said she is waiting to hear whether the government will grant her disability aid for a hand injury, conceding her days of employment are likely behind her, at least for now.

“I don’t even know what the answer is,” she said. — AFP

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KUALA LUMPUR: The United States needs to work with China to find a global solution in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, says prominent academician Prof Dr Jeffrey Sachs

“This is tragic, since China has done an excellent job of suppressing the pandemic, and the world could and should have learned a lot more from China’s response.

“The United States should learn some good manners to work cooperatively with China, rather than trying to impose its will on that nation,” the head of the Lancet Covid-19 Commission said.

In an email interview, the Columbia University lecturer was asked to comment on the increasing friction between the US and China over the origins of the coronavirus and the pressure on the World Health Organisation to conduct another round of investigations to determine the source of the problem.

“Both governments have information that they should add to the investigation of the origin of the virus.

“Indeed, much of the research underway at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was a joint US-China project, with funding by the US.

“Therefore, there is no cause for finger-pointing by one country towards the other. We need scientific cooperation between the US and China in the search for the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19,” he added.

On how the synergy can be established and areas to focus on, Dr Sachs said “scientists from the two countries have actually been working together on SARS-like viruses”.

“The two governments should be cooperating transparently together. Both should be adding more information to the investigation. The US should acknowledge its role in the laboratory work, and therefore, its co-responsibility in investigating the possible origins of the virus.”

Dr Sachs said rich countries had also not generously shared their knowledge, especially on vaccines, adding that the major regions including the United States, Euro­pean Union, China, India, Russia and Asean had not attempted any kind of coordinated response.

“The global financing system has favoured the rich countries, providing too little support to developing countries,” he said.

“The culture in many societies – such as the United States – has put personal behaviour ahead of the social good.

“In the name of ‘liberty’, Americans have failed to follow basic rules and protocols, and the disease has therefore been allowed to run rampant in the US.”

WONG CHUN WAI

> See the full interview on Let’s return to reason and science - Award-winning Jeffrey D. Sachs is an economics professor, best-selling author, innovative educator and a global leader in sustainable development. He serves as the director of the Center for Sustainable Develop­ment at Columbia University in New York, and is a University Professor, Columbia’s highest academic rank.

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 Let’s return to reason and science

  Looking ahead: Malaysia’s Institute for Medical Research is currently working on a few Covid-19 vaccines. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star

 Internationally renowned academician Professor Dr Jeffrey Sachs, who heads the Lancet Covid-19 Commission, shares his views in an exclusive interview on the fight against the pandemic, the US-China rivalry and his call to Malaysia to produce its own vaccine.

The United States should learn some good manners to work cooperatively with China, rather than trying to impose its will on that nation," said renowned U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs.

  

Prof Dr Sachs: Malaysia started late in vaccination because it’s not a vaccine producer, but now, the country is catching up. Malaysia should aim to produce vaccines in the future.

> The Lancet Covid-19 Commission was created to help speed up global, equitable and lasting solutions to the pandemic. How much has been achieved and what are the hurdles?

The global response to the pandemic has been wholly inadequate. This results from five main factors:

(1) The epidemic has been handled as a matter of national policy-making, without adequate regional and global coordination;

(2) The major regions, including the US, EU, China, India, Russia and Asean, have not attempted any kind of coordinated response;

(3) The rich countries have not fairly shared their technologies, especially on vaccines;

(4) The global financing system has favoured the rich countries, providing too little support to the developing countries;

(5) The culture in many societies – such as the United States – have put personal behaviour ahead of the social good. In the name of “liberty”, Americans have failed to follow basic rules and protocols, and the disease has therefore been allowed to run rampant in the United States.

Perhaps the main geopolitical problem has been the failure of the US to work with China for global solutions. This is tragic, since China has done an excellent job of suppressing the pandemic, and the world could and should have learned a lot more from China’s response.

> On a personal level, what is your role?

I am participating in policy discussions almost daily with governments and international organisations, as well as with the Commissioners and the experts on our various task forces. My job is to help coordinate the work of the Commission, and to oversee the drafting of various statements and the final report, which will be published in mid-2022.

While the world still battles the raging pandemic, new variants have surfaced, making it harder to contain the problem.

> What are your views on the continuing obstacles?

The delta variant has been a huge setback, but given the faulty policies by so many governments around the world, the emergence of new variants like delta has been made much more likely by the delays in comprehensively suppressing the virus. We should have known better but failed to act wisely.

> Vaccination remains the most effective way to fight the pandemic. What is your view on how Malaysia is handling its vaccination exercise?

We know that the vaccines are not enough to stop transmission – as Israel has shown (with high vaccine coverage but a strong epidemic). Vaccines cut serious disease, but do not stop transmission by themselves. Thus, countries need to combine vaccination with strong suppression policies (based on social distancing, prohibition of super-spreader events, face mask wearing, widespread and readily available testing, emphasis on outdoor rather than indoor activities, contact tracing, and other measures). Malaysia started late in vaccination because it’s not a vaccine producer, but now, the country is catching up. Malaysia should aim to produce vaccines in the future.

> Obtaining vaccines continues to be an issue for many developing countries. It’s worse in Africa. How real is the hoarding of vaccines by powerful developed countries?

Very real. The failure of the vaccine-producing countries to come up with a plan to scale up production and distribution of vaccines to developing countries is a great disappointment. It is a moral failure as well as a practical failure, leading to more deaths and more chances of dangerous variants.

> Many scientists have said the third vaccination – the booster – isn’t necessary as it will further deprive many countries from having access to the supply. What are your thoughts?

The evidence is not comprehensive, but it is a shame for rich countries to give the third dose without even a plan for the first dose in much of the world. That is unwise, unfair, and immoral in my view. The US, China, Russia, EU, UK, and India should present a coherent, coordinated plan for global vaccination coverage, and the US and EU should waive IP (intellectual property) to facilitate the scale-up of vaccine production in more countries. China, for example, should be helped to speed the production of mRNA vaccines.

> Ordinary people are overloaded with all kinds of information. Vaccines – whether they are Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Sinovac, are basically the same, but because the US, Europe and China have adopted different requirements, it has led to anxiety for securing entry into these countries. What are your views on this?

Once again, there is too little coordination and cooperation among the major countries, and too little sharing of information.

> Can you comment on how politics, especially geopolitical rivalry, can be separated from science?

The United States should learn some good manners, to work cooperatively with China rather than try to impose its will on the country.

> What is your comment on the increasing friction between China and the US over the origins of the coronavirus and the pressure on the WHO to have another round of investigations to determine its source?

Both governments have information that they should add to the investigation on the origin of the virus. Indeed, much of the research underway at the Wuhan Institute of Virology was a joint US-China project, with funding by the US. Therefore, there is no cause for finger-pointing by one country at the other. We need scientific cooperation between the US and China in the search for the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

> What should the US and China be doing in the fight against the pandemic, instead of having this side issue? How can both sides work together and in what areas can they combine resources? Both sides have accused each other of the virus originating from lab leaks.

As I just mentioned, scientists from the two countries have actually been working together on SARS-like viruses. The two governments should be cooperating transparently together. Both should be adding more information to the investigation. The US should acknowledge its role in the laboratory work, and therefore, its co-responsibility in investigating the possible origins of the virus.

> The WHO’s team, comprising experts from China and other countries, arrived in Wuhan for a month’s investigations into the origins of the virus. There is now another request for a follow up probe while China has also demanded a separate investigation into Fort Detrick in the US. What is your take?

We need a clear investigation of the joint US-China research programme to see if, by some terrible accident, it somehow contributed to a research-related spill over event. That is one hypothesis that needs investigation, along with various possibilities of natural spill over events.

> Finally, in the post Covid-19 pandemic world, how should the world and health experts brace for more infectious diseases?

We have many disease crises around the world, ranging from known infectious diseases that are not yet properly controlled (such as Malaria, worm infections, TB, HIV, etc.), as well as emerging infectious diseases such as Covid-19, non-communicable diseases (such as the global diabetes epidemic), and environmental ills (such as lung and cardiovascular diseases caused by air pollution). We should be investing far more resources into epidemiology, disease surveillance, disease prevention, and disease treatments. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria should become the Global Health Fund, to finance the response to the global disease burden in developing countries. All of this requires foresight, long-term thinking, and more resources from the rich world

 

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