By Ida Nadirah Ibrahim
SHAH ALAM, April 9 —
There is a silver lining in the midst of the chaos and crisis brought upon by the Covid-19 pandemic, says Selangor Menteri Besar.
Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said preparations in facing the cognitive challenges of the “new normal” by adjusting and adapting to them would determine if the opportunities align ahead.
Citing the Selangor smart state vision as an example, Amirudin said the current situation is the best time for the state administration to show its commitment to achieving the goal.
“This is the best time to show how serious we are in becoming a smart state. Are we prepared to (fully) implement this? Is our support system prepared?
“It seems like we do have good potential and characteristics in place.
“This is why there are several aspects that we can gain from,” said Amirudin during an interview aired on TV3’s morning talk show Malaysia Hari Ini, on April 9.
He said several meetings held at the state administrative level have been successfully carried out through various teleconferencing platforms, such as GMeet, Skype, and Zoom, adapting to the social distancing rule.
“This has opened up a new space for teleconferencing and how distance is no longer an obstruction or restraint for us to continue with our initiatives and daily affairs.”
Amirudin said the cancellation of Ramadan bazaars to avoid mass gatherings had also opened up new opportunities with the formation of the e-bazaar platform, Grab Selangor, which was first revealed by the state administration on April 8.
He said the initiative, in collaboration with Grab Malaysia, has been receiving good response from food and beverage businesses and other traders.
The state government had later extended the programme to other delivery partners under the Selangor Platform (Plats), which includes Bungkusit, Mr Speedy, Zepto Express and MatDespatch.
“This is a new normal that has tremendous positive potential that would open up creative job opportunities, which we probably would have described as inessential previously.”
Amirudin once again urged Malaysians, and especially the people of Selangor, to adhere to the movement control order by staying at home and practising social distancing.
