Over the past weeks, Malaysia received batches of Malaysians living abroad, who were returning home and being put under quarantine. While some had criticized the government’s action in allowing this group to return home, one young student expresses his gratitude for the government’s “insane efficiency” in handling returning Malaysians.
18-year-old Shacind Ananthan, first-year economics student posted on Facebook last Friday (April 10), about his journey home from the United Kingdom that ended in Impiana KLCC Hotel, where he and 73 others are currently in quarantine.
“It all started on the plane from Doha to KL, where I had transited from Manchester. With a mere 50 people on the plane, we were all fairly separated to sit in isolation from one another.”
Photo: Facebook Shacind Ananthan
After he was made to sign a couple of forms, presumably to track whether or not they have been exposed to anyone infected by COVID-19, they arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Wednesday (April 8) and were warmly greeted by two uniformed personnel. They were also constantly reminded about the one-metre social distancing as they boarded the Skytrain.
As he was boarding, he realized the train only had a maximum of 10 people and seats were marked with an ‘X’ to ensure social distancing, Shacind notes that the whole operation ran smoothly and that it felt like something that the government had been planning on for years.
“A recurring theme you would find is that at every ‘checkpoint’ there were at least 1-2 officers who did their job so diligently, that there was no hold up, making the process very smooth. It felt as if this was an extremely well thought out procedure that had been going on for years.”
Photo: Facebook Shacind Ananthan
After clearing the immigration checkpoint, they were met with a team of health officials from the Ministry of Health, who gave them a home assessment form to monitor and report their symptoms daily.
“I was greeted by this lovely woman, who asked for my health declaration form and reaffirmed if I had any symptoms. The constant glee on her face and referring to me as “adik” made me feel like I was in safe hands” he wrote while adding that it's things like this that calms a person in an anxiety-driven situation.
After clearing the immigration, they queued up to sanitize their hands and were given another form to register their particulars and emergency contacts. They were also briefed by a police officer on the do’s and don’ts while in quarantine.
Shacind wrote that the question on everyone’s minds at the time was “where are we being taken?”.
“I overheard conversations of people praying that it was a five-star hotel in KL. However dire the circumstances, the innate Malaysian tendency to always expect luxury never fades, does it?” he added.
The policeman politely replied that he wasn’t sure where they were going to be quarantined but assured them it was going to be a good place nevertheless.
They were escorted to the baggage claim area and later boarded on to the Smart Selangor buses that had already been waiting for them. Before entering the bus, a fireman proceeded to fumigate their luggage and backpacks one by one, while they sanitized their hands once more and were handed a bag full of snacks.
Photo: Facebook Shacind Ananthan
At this point, Schacind just couldn’t fathom the level of effort and detail that the government had thought of throughout the whole process.
” My mind was still in a state of disbelief, and I kept wondering how much manpower and logistics it must have taken to make the process as smooth as possible and achieve this insane level of efficiency.”
As they arrived at the hotel, they were greeted by dozens of people in full hazmat suits, busy screening and registering them. The hotel rooms were even equipped with more than enough necessities for them to observe their quarantine smoothly.
Photo: Facebook Shacind Ananthan
“In the room were two boxes of bottled water, plastic bags for the contaminated clothes, a huge bag filled with coffee, biscuits, and snacks and so on. We are being served good nutritious food three times a day and housed in a four-star (some five star) hotel all for free of charge. There is 24/7 surveillance and a medical team at our doorstep at all times.”
Photo: Facebook Shacind Ananthan
For ease of communication, all 74 of them were also added into a WhatsApp group, where they instantly flooded it with messages of hope, optimism, and gratitude for the frontliners who are heroically putting their welfare in front of their own lives.
“Why am I writing this? This is a primary account of someone who experienced the plight of leaving a foreign country overnight with an uncertain future.”
“It is not an overstatement when I say that Malaysia has been one of the most proactive countries with tackling the menace of COVID-19.”
“Therefore, I urge the armchair economists at home, the constant naysayers- if you cannot acknowledge the good our government is doing, at least don’t stand in their way.”
Shacind’s Facebook post has garnered more than 11K shares, inviting comments in support of the government’s effort in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: Facebook Shacind Ananthan
Thank you again, Malaysia, for keeping me safe. I have always been, am always, and will always be a proud citizen of this country that has given me so much.”
“Tanah tumpahnya darahku!” said Shacind in ending his post.
We’re glad that Shacind and all the others have made it home safely, many thanks to the Malaysian government.
By: Siti Farhana Sheikh Yahya
