LETTER | The no-nonsense stance of law enforcers going after the public for not wearing or improperly wearing face masks may all seem well and necessary.

The hefty fines issued may even be justified as a desperate measure for desperate times.

Indeed, there seems to be an overzealous drive to create a climate and culture of compliance.

But we are all forgetting a critical truth. There is more to just wearing a face mask.

Do we or the law enforcers know that overused masks are potentially more harmful than not wearing or using masks improperly?

Do we not realise that many people are not even aware of the wear-and-tear and durability of the masks?

In the first place, who is there to vouch that the enormous brands of face masks dumped into the country are all genuine, reliable and conforming to established safety standards?

While the almost frenzy-like enforcement goes into full swing to ensure people don the face masks in public - going by the crackdowns nationwide and RM10,000 fines happily issued and diligently reported - we may all be fooling ourselves.

An overused or poor quality (perhaps even fake) mask would prove to be more harmful than non-compliance or improper use of the mask.

Over to our caring government and health minister for a learned solution, please.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.