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The government’s consistency in being inconsistent in handling the Covid-19 virus is appalling.
The latest decision not to name the establishments where the virus has been detected has turned into another insufferably conceited moment.
People have the right to know which restaurants, condominiums, schools or shopping centers have been affected and the decision to avoid them is theirs.
People cannot protect themselves if they are not warned.
Health Director General Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said yesterday that revealing the names of the facilities would stigmatize them and cause public alarm.
Noor Hisham said that if there were cases in those places, might people not want to go there? Why would they do it?
Isn’t that like a doctor who withholds the patient’s illness so as not to disturb his life?
By not identifying the facilities affected by the virus and simply naming the entire area, it causes unnecessary distress to everyone in the locality.
If people know of an affected building, they will skip it instead of avoiding the entire area, thus lessening the economic impact.
Saving lives must prevail over possible stigmatization.
Is human life less precious than the reputation of an establishment?
Surely, the owners of the affected places have a moral obligation to alert the public. So does the media when verifying an incident.
Given that the access points will not be named, how does the ministry plan to alert those who frequented the affected facilities to test for Covid-19?
By knowing the affected spots, those who went there can choose to get tested, watch for symptoms, or stay away from older relatives for a period.
All of this goes beyond the stigmatization argument.
Expect a maelstrom of insanity to unleash as the rumor picks up, and there’s no certainty where the fake news will end.
Consider: People would speculate and spread rumors about the wrong establishments, causing the innocent to be turned away.
More credit must be given to the public to handle the truth.
With the truth comes trust, while hiding the facts breeds distrust.
Inevitably, the suspicion will arise that the government does not care about the interest of the people.
Noor Hisham has faced the spirit of transparency that is key in managing Covid-19.
People will panic if there is no clarity.
As it stands, the confidence of a depressed public has been eroded by ill-founded decisions by the authorities.
Every few days a new alarm arrives that deprives large numbers of men and women of their livelihoods and makes life infinitely less pleasant.
Policy changes and increasingly impossible to understand or follow rules seem like a frustrated attempt to punish us for wanting to live a normal life.
Its effects on happiness, health, safety and the economy are increasingly evident, profound, distressing and lasting.
The reality is that we have no idea what our government thinks it is doing.
In the absence of answers to fairly obvious questions, we have to assume that the ministers and Noor Hisham have no idea either.
Opinions expressed as those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
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