Black flags or white?

Malaysia’s Covid-19 situation is at a critical stage where many critically ill patients are dying at home because there are just not enough hospital beds. Vaccination is slowly being ramped up as supplies finally arrive while hotspot states struggle to contain rising Covid-19 infections.

Amid all these desperate measures, doctors and nurses are getting burnt out after a year and a half of incessant long hours. Extra staff and volunteers roped in are also exhausted. People are suffering from lost jobs and incomes because of extended lockdowns.

So what can be done now to climb out of this pandemic abyss? Focus on trying to make the best of the situation till things get back to some sense of normality or just complain and protest?

For some people, it’s easier to just make lots of noise without actually doing anything positive. It’s clear who they are because they’re visible on social media with posts using hashtags #BenderaHitam #Lawan and #KerajaanGagal.

Rather than providing helpful solutions, they’re demanding:

1. For Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to resign immediately;

2. For Parliament to convene immediately;

3. For the state of emergency to end.

How do these demands help? If their demands are met, all efforts to contain Covid-19 will just be thrown out the window as which of these protesters are going to follow SOPs?

Once the emergency ends and Parliament reconvenes, who says national and state elections aren’t going to be forced next? Remember Sabah – what will the Covid-19 situation become then for Malaysia?

It’s really sad how this social media protest movement is gaining so much traction, with almost 300,000 supporters while the alternate #WhiteFlag movement to help people suffering due to Covid-19 restrictions has barely got a fifth of such support.

What does this say about this bunch of keyboard warriors once they’re unleashed? As it stands, Malaysia’s Covid-19 total is already close to 800,000 – will these protest supporters cause this figure to double, triple or worse?

The right to protest should not be abused – do it for good reasons so all Malaysians can come together to fight this global pandemic and save our country. Protesting for change – just for the sake of change, without any real solutions – is just another useless distraction and a slap in the face for everyone fighting hard to make our country better.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.