By Prof. Dr. Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani

I have just watched the discussion on Chinese TV station CGTN trying to analyse the effectiveness of the Asian model and Asian way in solving the COVID-19 crisis.

It reminds me of the perspective of Asian values popular in the 1990s. The programme explained that governments of Asian countries like China, South Korea and Singapore have been very proactive in containing the spread of the coronavirus. The hardline stance of these governments has been viewed as highly effective, but what is more important is the level of discipline displayed by their citizens in helping to resolve the crisis compared to the Western approach in this matter which is perceived as weak and less organised.

Do we have to agree to views presented in the CGTN show? No doubt the level of public trust towards the government is pathetically low among the Western countries. For instance, Daily Telegraph declared on its front page "The End of Freedom", as British prime minister Boris Johnson announced to impose a national lockdown. The first thing that came into the minds of the Britons was that they would lose their freedom to move about their country because of government restriction.

The proposal by the minister of science, technology and innovation Khairy Jamaluddin to introduce a mobile application to monitor the movements of Malaysians has received largely positive response from the people during such a trying time. If the same thing is implemented in the West, the people will immediately rise against it as a tool to spy on them and infringe on their privacy.

In the United States, media organisations such as CNN and the people in general do not have much faith in Donald Trump's ability to resolve the viral infection effectively. Trump has been widely seen as imparting an illusory impression and false information on the American people in a way that has sent the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases spiralling. He is seen as acting too slowly, interested only in the country's economy and the business elite which are now suffering tremendously with the movement controls in place in several of the states. The US$2 trillion assistance package announced by the government should help bring some relief to the people, as some 3.8 million Americans are now projected to go jobless as a result of the outbreak.

Badly hit countries like Italy and Spain are experiencing extremely high infection and fatality rates because their people are less disciplined and are not ready to take government instructions, causing the virus to spread rapidly in their communities despite the fact these countries boast sophisticated medical equipment and facilities.

In view of this, which way should the Malaysian government adopt? The movement control order (MCO) introduced here is not a complete lockdown as the one enforced in the Chinese city of Wuhan and Hubei province. Obviously, if Malaysians are not disciplined enough, there is a strong likelihood what is happening now in Italy and Spain will take place here, too. It is absolutely important for Malaysians to stay at home, going out only to purchase daily necessities, in order to win this war against the virus.

In the meantime, the media should also play a more active role in checking and balancing out the government's role in the implementation of MCO, and to seek the most optimal solutions to minimise the risk of infection among Malaysians. The success of South Korea lies with it establishing more than 600 COVID-19 testing centres across the country. Such a facility is still limited over here in Malaysia and we need to make it more widely available, especially in the so-called "red zones" or hot spots.

It doesn't matter whether we agree with the so-called Asian model in containing the viral outbreak, most importantly Malaysians must be disciplined and hearken to the government's instructions to stay home and not to assemble in public. Meanwhile, the government must also exhibit a stronger resolution in implementing the best solutions to track infected individuals in order to win this battle. We must all do our bit to ensure that the country is delivered out of the current doldrums as soon as possible for the people's well-being as well as our common prosperity.

(Prof. Dr. Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani is Professor at the School of International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia. Email: [email protected].)