Covid-19: US and Europe paying high price for their freedoms, says Dr M

CORONAVIRUS | Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that the success of China and South Korea in dealing with the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic is driven largely by the discipline and attitude of the people in following their government's instructions.

This, he claimed, was in contrast to the US and European countries which is too keen to promote an independent spirit which has caused their people to disobey the government's efforts to curb the pandemic.

"If we look at (the European countries and the US), government orders are ignored. The people do everything, because they believe that they are a free nation and have their rights, and should not be dictated to by the government, and they know what to do."

"[...] That's why we have found that China and South Korea can handle this problem more effectively, because when they are given a directive, the people will obey," he said.

In fact, Mahathir claimed, there are people in Europe who consider the Covid-19 problem to be that of poor and developing countries while they will be able to deal with it more effectively because of advanced medical facilities.

"We see, even though they are more advanced, their nature is a factor that has made them less able to control this pandemic.

“[...] So it is not just the facilities that matter, but the attitudes of the people, (which) is important in providing the discipline and obedience to instructions," he said in a live chat session with medical and pulmonary consultant Dr Nurul Yaqeen on Facebook.

Mahathir was asked to comment on the success of China and South Korea which had recorded a relatively low number of deaths compared to the US and European countries like Italy and Spain.

For the record, the US has recorded the highest Covid-19 infections with over 678,000 cases and 34,641 deaths. Spain (177,633 cases, 18,579 deaths), Italy (165,155 cases, 21,647 deaths) and France (165,027 cases, 17,920 deaths) are the three next worst-hit countries.

China, the source of the outbreak, registered 83,402 cases with 3,346 deaths, while South Korea recorded 10,613 cases with only 229 deaths.

China on January 23, imposed a curfew in Wuhan - the city of origin of Covid-19 - and shut down access to and from the city. The order was revoked over two months later.

South Korea has reportedly done extensive screening and has adopted technologies such as contact tracking and artificial intelligence (AI) applications in its efforts to curb the outbreak.

While acknowledging that China's approach may be considered too restrictive of freedom and human rights, Mahathir said, on the other hand, placing too much emphasis on freedom would have made things difficult to control.

“This discipline is contrary to the nature of freedom. Discipline means obeying the rules, not breaking the rules. But when we have (too much) freedom, there is no discipline. When there is no discipline, rules are not obeyed, and we accept the consequences," he added.

In fact, Mahathir agreed with the moderator's suggestion that the European countries and the US have paid a "high price" for the freedom their people enjoyed.

Meanwhile, he said, the people needed to prioritise breaking the chain of infection and ensure there were no new infections to stop the pandemic.

Keep up with the latest information on the outbreak in the country with Malaysiakini's free Covid-19 tracker.

Malaysiakini is providing free access to the most important updates on the coronavirus pandemic. You can find them here.

Help keep independent media alive - subscribe to Malaysiakini. 

Chinese experts arriving tomorrow to share experience in managing Covid-19

China's virus-hit economy to see first decline since at least 1992

S Korea reports more recovered Covid-19 patients testing positive again

S Korea to use electronic wristbands on self-isolation violators: PM