Glitch

Glitch is an Australian television drama which I think is unique of its kind. Australian drama tend to be family-centric, but this is sci-fi. Glitch is about the deads coming back to life in a small town in Australia with no memories of how they died and when they died. Only the policeman and local doctor are aware of the rise from the dead and they immediately brought the deads to the doctor's abode to avoid creating ripples and unrest in the small tightly knit community. It soon becomes apparent that the deads cannot leave the town or risk disintegrating and re-die, and that each of them comes back to somehow finish some unfinished business they did not wrap up before their demise, with majority of them seems to die of murder. Australian drama, like British tv series, is short and generally consists of only eight episodes per season. It's also densely packed with adrenaline-pumping stories and, other than Newton's Law and Janet King, it's a very interesting tv series to watch. The first season was produced by an Australian TV network but the second and third are produced by Netflix. So watch it if you can, it's good!

Broadchurch

I usually watch American TV series in preference over movies, because movies sometimes are a bit too long for me to watch in a binge and sometimes the stories repeat itself I got bored of all the melodrama. But there are also times I'm just tired of American dramas and I switch to British/Australian/New Zealand dramas which are often less speckled with personal affections and more focused on its theme. Broadchurch is one of them I watched, and it turned out to be super awesome! Now, British drama is few and far between, and the charm (or maybe downside) of British shows is that they're super short, consisting of only a few episodes in a season (a 'season' in America is called a 'series' in British) so it makes the story short but compact and there are very little fillers.

Broadchurch is about an enigmatic detective whose arrival in a suburban British town coincided with the discovery of a dead boy's body that fractures the society. The trust between the small-town community cracks and consequently there are extra scrutiny and doubts over each other's personal lives as it appears that everybody has something to hide. I've just finished the first season, probably a few years late I believe, and the series is awesome! No melodrama, quite densely packed with enough elements to get you pumped, and coming from a suburban town, I was able to sync a bit with the elements of the town. It's good. If you're looking for a British crime drama, I highly recommend Broadchurch. I enjoyed it much more than I had expected to.

Can Malaysia Recover From COVID-19?

I support MCO in Malaysia, but unlike majority of the population, I want an easing in lifting it.

MCO is very harsh, given that in Malaysia the situation isn't as bad as Wuhan. But when it was introduced, there were uncertainties on how bad it could turn as the tabligh gathering was massive and the spreading could be uncontrollable. I agreed harsh MCO was needed for the first two weeks.

But now we are entering a third cycle. And our daily new cases hardly inspire confidence the situation has improved.

The reality is COVID-19 is going to stay with us for a little while longer. It isn't possible to see zero new cases for a few months. If MCO has been successfully, we should be seeing a reduction in new cases. But we're not. We're not seeing spikes, but we are not seeing flattening either.

The core of this issue lies with the people, of which I really am tired of explaining again.

I agree MCO is needed, but I think majority of people fail to understand something: MCO cannot halt this virus. It's meant to only flatten, and when it has achieved its goal, it will be lifted. And when MCO is lifted, the very dangerous, second wave is lingering and can attack as swiftly and savagely and perhaps more viciously than the first.

Malaysians need to understand that while MCO is helpful in flattening the curve, it is also dangerous because once it is lifted, it triggers a mass exodus (thanks to bad MCO implementation earlier when people left KL en masse) and mass societal movement that the police and armed forces will not be able to control. When one infected person comes into contact with a fellow passenger, the spread could be so fast it makes contact tracing impossible.

People will make excuses like, it has been two months, let's hang out, have party, dine out, go to cinemas and everywhere and in one day they will be making trips and meeting many different people. It is a perfect opportunity for a second messy explosive wave to come.

So MCO should be lifted gradually, slowly, beginning with services that most people will look for, but arguably not essential. For instance, barber. Haircut.

Almost 95% of Malaysians oppose allowing haircut services to resume despite being allowed to.

Let me tell you why I support it.

There are two scenarios: In both scenarios, let's consider you do come into contact with an infected person. If you cut your hair now and get infected, with limited social mobility and services, the infected can be quickly traced because the government knows where to focus. If you wait for them to lift MCO, when people are mobile and pent-up desire burst its bank and people may get a haircut and subsequently go eat, go drink, go watch movie, go to the beach and go any parks, contact tracing becomes impossible and the spreading of the virus will become uncontrollable, defeating the purpose of MCO.

Which scenario do you think is better? You're being asked to choose the better of two bad options. Nobody says it's a good option, it's just that the other one is so much more appalling.

You could get your haircut done at home. That would be ideal, only if everybody cooperates and do so. But then again, had people cooperated, we never needed MCO to begin with.

Wait for 0 new cases? Look at China, it's still not happening. By the way, China imposed strict lockdown, levels beyond what Malaysia MCO is. Even then, the daily new cases in Malaysia does not reflect 0-new-case day is on the horizon. So it's easier if you do not count on that. Plus, 0-new-case is possibly because it is undetected, not because it is absent. There's a difference.

I have no faith Malaysia will recover from COVID-19 this soon. Not because Malaysia does not have the capability, but because, judging from the barber service response, Malaysians are not prepared for what may happen post-MCO.

Dutch Lady's Rose Bandung

This flavour was introduced last year but I did not try it. I gave it a try this year, and my short and honest review: taste good, but awfully, ridiculously sweet, as if it's made with the sole intention of triggering diabetes to the drinkers. Otherwise, it tasted fine. I still prefer the original, or even chocolate and strawberry flavour which are also sweet, but at least they haven't been overwhelming.

Singapore, Covid-19

Singapore has lost control of COVID-19 for quite a time already. The number of local unlinked cases has risen sharply and it piles up to become a staggering mess of trouble. But Singapore government, being rational, has not taken the drastic steps already enforced in many other countries: lockdown.

There has been disruption though: retail outlets are to shut, dining out is forbidden and only takeaways and delivery are allowed. And while it does not encourage wearing masks, it does not discourage. Basically, you decide how you see it. Wear if you want to, don't wear if you want to. Previously the government straight out discourages wearing, but now it retracts it but it stopped short of encouraging it.

To be honest, Singapore has responded well. One thing about it is that Singapore, unlike Malaysia, does not need to enforce a lockdown. It cannot afford to, being such a small country so heavily reliant on trade, and it also really just does not seem to need to. All Singapore government needs to do is to stop public transport, shut the MRTs, and the country mobility would be basically incapacitated. Only a few crazy rich Asians would have private vehicles to move around, but such privileges only befall a minority of Singaporeans and therefore should suffice.

Singapore is a small country that can be easily controlled. Only when it becomes to times like this, Singapore does become extremely appealing and inspire confidence.

Just Stay At Home

Malaysia went into a partial lockdown from today until 31/3/2020.

What it means is that while people are free to move around, they are strongly advised to stay indoors. Malaysians should only go out to buy daily necessities.

However, Malaysians are not doing so.

Look, I belong to the minority that finds this fear wildly exaggerated and blown out of proportions. Lots of diseases are always spreading constantly and people are dying on a daily basis from something as mild as a flu. It is not announced because when something happens on a daily basis, the people lose interest and it therefore is not newsworthy. Just look at H1N1 in 2009. People were so scared, and Malaysia reported deaths daily, until when the deaths reached 80+, MOH just decided to stop reporting because the virus had spread out of control and people were dying at a pace too quick to tally. After all, interest and fear waned, and live went back to normal, even though the virus was still spreading and people were still dying from H1N1.

The same is happening now. The difference is there was no social media then, and even though the situation was actually much worse in 2009, this social panic did not occur.

COVID-19 will spread uncontrolled, and people will die. But we just have to wait until the psychological fear subsides. It is not a matter of whether this will happen. It's when.

In Singapore, despite skyrocketing cases, people already move out and not wearing masks. Because what matters here is psychology.

Plus, evidence points COVID-19 is on the same severity as H1N1. It isn't like SARS, or MERS (which I believe majority of people do not know about). Hence, it defies logic that the same outbreak involving virus of the same severity entail two wildly different public response.

Yet, again, I recognise I belong to a minority.

We live in a society. That being said, we therefore would have conflicts and difference in opinions.

It's true that while the majority of us would just display mild symptoms or even asymptomatic, there are people who have grandparents at home that are highly vulnerable. While the vulnerability exists even before COVID-19 spreads, and thanks to COVID-19, the awareness is much higher although stupidly displayed, it doesn't mask the fact that they can still catch the virus and die.

Therefore, it is essential you remain at your home when this partial lockdown is announced.

Don't be selfish.

We may disagree with the action, but bear in mind there are a few who really cannot catch this virus.

I don't like this order, in fact, I do not agree with this order at all. But since it already is being enforced, and if staying at home can prevent even one death, then just stay at home.

So please, just stay at home.

You don't want this lockdown to be extended.

By then, our economy could also be so badly brutalised, we cannot go back to pre-COVID-19 level.

The world is already in a mess, just be patient for 2 weeks.

Malaysians, please stay at home.

I'm not worried about how the virus is going to kill. I'm extremely concerned about the psychological toll it has on people.

COVID-19: Why Worry Only Now?

People have been sharing awareness on social media, reminding and essentially, in a subtle but clear-cut way, warning everyone to take on the mantle of social responsibility by avoiding crowded public areas, informing that not displaying symptoms does not mean you're not a host to the virus.

It's good.

I mean, I agree with all this information. It's stupid to deny that they're true, not especially when the death toll has climbed so high and the new cases skyrocket all around the world, with the epicentre now shifted to Europe.

However, my question is: why now?

Why are this information only shared now?

Look, I get it. Thousands have died from COVID-19. New cases soared everywhere and this forcibly shuts many cities around the world and disrupts world economy on an unprecedented level.

But as healthcare professionals have warned repeatedly when panic buying infects the society, taking care of personal hygiene and all these social responsibility messages are something you should be doing ALL THE TIME. Why, exactly, in the thick skull of majority people's mind, makes you think this is the only time you need to do exactly that?

People die everyday. Everyday, thousands of people die from diseases from existing microorganisms, some of which already have a cure, and majority of them could be easily avoided.

The annual seasonal flu kills at the very least 80,000 people worldwide.

Non-transmittal diseases, like chronic diseases, and car accidents, misshaps, unforeseen tragedies, strike everyday. Why aren't awareness spread when all these are omnipresent?

Look, I'm not against practising all these things. But I guess I'm surprised how people have been so ignorant of ever-present existing threats on a daily basis that it saddens me to realise that it takes a new virus to slap people awake from the slumber.

COVID-19 mortality rate is not even higher than dengue. So far, dengue has infected 25,000 Malaysia to date. People still throw rubbish in the drain and clog it so that water can be left stagnant and breed aedes.

COVID-19 mortality is hardly more deadly than car accidents that could leave also a psychological impact. Yet, people in Malaysia still do not know how to use their signal lights. For all you idiots who say car accidents are avoidable and this virus is not, let me remind you accidents are called accidents because they are not foreseen and happens without warnings and therefore they are not avoidable. You can be careful and not hit anyone person's car, but you could be the victim of another person's mistake. You can be careful and it could reduce the probability of getting one, but there's nothing that says you can't land yourself in one. Just like the virus, you can try to avoid it, but the virus lingers on surfaces for a few hours and you cannot possibly tell where they are. Somebody may sneeze on a table in the cafe and you may sit on it a few hours later and touch the table and then touch your food. If you're gonna tell me I'm stretching it with my fancy imagination, let me tell you all these happen out of probability, of which this is one.

My point is all these risks are present on a daily basis. Just because COVID-19 is spreading it doesn't mean you couldn't get yourself a nasty dengue and die from it. Stop being obsessed with COVID-19 and start taking care of your health by watching out for all diseases. Just because COVID-19 is spreading doesn't mean you wouldn't die from other causes the next day. So wearing a mask now guarantees some safety? If you don't know how to throw away the stagnant water in the flower pot you could get dengue of die of something nasty later. The morgue isn't invented only now to cope with COVID-19.

Avoid crowded areas when you're sick is what you should be doing all along. Not just when COVID-19 is spreading. If you have fever, even if it's just seasonal flu, just stay home. It's good right now you realise you could spread it to someone who would just manifest mild symptoms but spread it to vulnerable old people with compromised immunity. I just hope you remember this one year later when COVID-19 would most likely stay common among the community and when people stop caring about it.

Remember H1N1 in 2009? All the hype then, only to have it still spreading among the community 11 years later and people already stop giving a shit about it like it does not matter now. You gonna tell me all these 11 years you've been stocking yourself with hand sanitisers and masks? Don't kid yourself - I know for a fact nobody is doing that, else why is the demand spiking now even though H1N1 is continuously still spreading?

It's good this awareness is spreading now. Let's see when people start getting comfortable and forget all this advice and go back to being a jerk that goes to the office when they're sick.

And also, wanna bet by then COVID-19 is still spreading?

This is going to be a 2nd H1N1 - people give so much shit and panic when it starts spreading. But after a few months....nah.

The gist: practise social responsibility all the time. Not only now. People forget very fast, and soon nobody cares anymore. Shame. It's a real shame it takes a new virus to slap people awake. It's like everyday only PROTON gets into a car accident, then suddenly a BMW gets into one, and everybody starts using signal light and buckle up. I'm not downplaying COVID-19, but I find it curious people downplay all other diseases that are existing and spreading at the same time.

Hypocrites. Hypocrites everywhere.