LETTER | To shut down or not to shut down? If we shut down, what are the exceptions? Everyone seems to have different ideas and everyone is giving suggestions.

I know talk is easy. The devil is in the details and the proof of the pudding is in the eating. 

Hence, I am not adding criticism or providing specific measures further.

At this critical juncture, the nation needs unity in resolve and purpose. 

We can’t have the government proposing while the opposition is either not supporting or working at a tangent.

We can’t have piecemeal and ad hoc measures to contain the pandemic anymore. 

The government must engage the opposition and the opposition must respond positively. 

There must be a bipartisan committee supported by experts to assess the magnitude of the problems before hammering out a coherent set of measures to tackle them.

Half-baked measures and oscillating back and forth do not work anymore. 

We end up losing more time and opportunity to alleviate the situation.

The nation and its people are suffering. May I urge our leaders from both the government and the opposition to come together now? 

They must set aside their pride to come up with a comprehensive plan that will gather widespread support from among the people.

Taking this opportunity, may I also appeal to the Agong and the rulers to direct the government and the opposition to work together starting from now.

I really hope that this bipartisan committee will be given a specific timeframe to come with detailed measures to tackle the pandemic as well as all the consequences arising from it.

There is no time left to waste. Please do it now.