Dr Hartini during the press conference at MPN office.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world in early 2020, no one would have thought that the impact would last us for decades to be corrected.
Jobs were lost, savings were burnt to the ground, children were left malnourished, families displaced, young children lost their parents and many more heart-breaking stories that we hear over time.
However, to address the impact and bridge the gap by reaching out to the people especially those in need, the government had launched National Recovery Council to help those in need.
Member of National Recovery Council, Datuk Dr Hartini Zainuddin who is a well-known social activist in Malaysia and abroad said that while we might have moved out of the pandemic phase, there is a still a lot to be done.
“The nation’s recovery post pandemic is more than just economic recovery. It is more than that. There are still a lot of things that needs to be done and we need to continue to empower all segments, not just the economy but also social welfare, education, activism and many more,” she said in a group media interview.
From the education standpoint, she said that Malaysia had closed schools for about 42 weeks, which is the longest in Southeast Asia, and it had caused children especially those who came from low-income families to be left out.
“Honestly, the closure will take about 10 years to recover. It is tough, but we can’t give up for the sake of our next generation. Hence, if we want to recover, we need to work together and do the maximum that we can, not the minimum,” she said.
Dr Hartini (2nd from left) at the open hall of SMK Bahang, Penampang during one of her work visits.
Hartini added that the pandemic has led to an increase in cost of living and rising inflation and those who are in the B40 have fallen to B60 and the M40 has fallen to B40.
“If no action is taken, this will cause the productivity of the country to fall and create a larger income gap among the people,” she said.
What is more saddening is that most children who were born during the pandemic from the lower income group have not had a proper nutritional meal since they were born and mortality rate for kids below five years old has increased.
The social activist also added that the pandemic had caused more than 25 per cent of kindergartens to be closed, leaving single mothers out of choice but to stay home to take care of their children.
“It is not that they do not want to work, it’s just that they can’t. To move from one place to another requires money, and they do not have the money.
“This is what we have to understand. It is more than just giving food. Distributing one food basket a year is not enough. It is about job security, social protection, shelter, and many other components that need to be looked into,” she said.
She stressed that when National Recovery Council was activated in July 2021, its mission is to close the gap between people and create some sort of social protection.
“It has been a tough road since. The pandemic period was a horrible period for all of us, and today, I am happy at least we have a movement. We have improved,” she said.
Dr Hartini (in blue caftan) talking to several kids during her work visits.
Hartini added that despite the thorns on the path and difficulties to get everyone on the same boat, they managed to get things done, and they plan not to stop anytime soon.
“Even though there were calls to abolish National Recovery Council, we will still continue doing our work because we are here to help the people, nothing less,” she said.
Since the National Recovery Council’s inception until today, about 15,000 households have been assisted and in the period of two and a half years of the pandemic, a database has been created and now they know who, where and how to mobilise instant assistance when needed.
“Most of the time, when we received texts or cries for help that they needed food, the people were already hungry. We can’t let people to starve just because they could not afford to buy food. It is our responsibility to help,” she said.
Out 15,000 households, Hartini added that about 30 per cent of aid, were distributed to Sabah and Sarawak.
“We know that Sabah and Sarawak are huge and there are lots of areas that is difficult to reach especially the rural area. Hence, we have collaborated with people on the ground to help us get there faster and ensure aid, were distributed as quickly as possible,” she said.
The National Recovery Council has collaborated with four main non-governmental organisations (NGOs) – the Red Crescent Society, BANTU – a combination of 17 NGOs in Sabah, Yayasan Sejahtera and Zero Hunger for these efforts.
“It is important for us to create an ecosystem where we can empower every aspect together, and that is what we do in Sabah and Sarawak.
Under the National Recovery Council’s, the five main actions that the council had requested immediate Government’s intervention are education displacement due to the long school closure, lack of manpower that could cause a loss to the nation’s economy worth approximately RM20 billion, food security, assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises as well as increasing the productivity of the tourism sector.
The National Recovery Council was established on July 21, 2021 and is chaired by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Ministers, top brass of the civil servants, opposition representative, economists, as well as experts in in social welfare and health.
The National Recovery Council focus now is to re-establish the economy and is finetuning the National Recovery Plan 2.0 to ensure the nation and economy is fully recovered especially sectors that are badly affected by Covid-19.