The New Normal: ‘Youths In A Pandemic’ with YB Lim Yi Wei.

Chat with YB Lim Yi Wei was conducted via IGTV hosted by the MYER Movement. The chat was transcribed by Charmaine Cheong Shen May.

When MYER approached YB Lim Yi Wei with a proposal to discuss the MCO and its effects on youths, we were met with bright enthusiasm and a phenomenal friendliness that promised a delightful session between us and the state assemblywoman (ADUN) of Kampung Tunku. On a cloudy Tuesday afternoon and sat before our digital devices, we were presented the chance to speak with her over a Live on Instagram about Youths In a Pandemic, moderated by one of our co-founders, Rifqi Faisal.

Question 1: What are your concerns with the MCO and how it is affecting youths?

YB LIM YI WEI: At the beginning of the MCO, I think one of the most affected were university students. A lot of them were stuck at their campuses and many were unsure if they were allowed to go home or not. On the 29th of April, minister Ismail Sabri announced that 4.8k students stranded on campus would be allowed to go home. However, I think that one of the things we could have done better between the 18th of March and 29th of April was to test students [for the virus] on campus before allowing them to go home.

In the CMCO, one of the topics that’s really coming up is about online learning and the digital divide. A lot of schools are moving to online learning. However, in certain areas where internet coverage is poor or households where families do not have enough devices, the timeliness and delivery of online learning becomes questionable. For students who have no access to the tools for online learning or require one-on-one teaching, we question if they will be left behind when schools reopen.

Question 2: In terms of the Digital Divide as mentioned above, what has the government done to combat the issue?

YB LIM YI WEI: The Selangor state government has taken action under our economic stimulus package and invested RM700000 into developing an online platform (Selangortutor.com) for form 1–5 students that is totally free. In the month of April we saw that 72,399 students had joined the platform. On the Federal level, Modules have been prepared on MOE but for those without internet coverage, there is a program called ‘Kelas@Rumah’ where lessons are taught from 9am-10am and 1pm-2pm everyday, available on RTM TV Okey and Channel 146 on Astro.

QUESTION 3: For students who do have access to technology, some of them do not feel motivated to attend the online classes. What advice would you give to them?

YB LIM YI WEI: I would advise students to stick to routine as much as possible. With the MCO, it’s very easy to wake up late or not do anything the whole day but I think it’s important to enforce a routine. For students facing major exams this year, SPM and STPM have been postponed by a month but we don’t know how the exams will pan out. If you don’t study consistently, you’re going to have to cram a lot of things and add pressure to yourself. If the government decides to postpone the exams past December, it raises the question of ‘if you don’t study consistently, will you be able to remember things over a period of time’.

Question 4: What is your take on education being put on hold?

YB LIM YI WEI: It may be tricky and we will have to come together as a community to make sure that students aren’t left behind. Helping one another could be as simple as helping an underprivileged family living one or two doors away and sharing your internet so they can access online learning. Parents who have the luxury of time can try to be more involved in their children’s education though we recognise the concern some parents may face with the prospect of job loss and will not have enough time to monitor their kids. It will take a grassroots’ approach to address the issue of education happening in lieu of covid-19.

With all this time we have, I would also encourage youths to pick up skills during this period. Take the time to discover new talents such as painting and cooking. One of the things I’ve been doing on the days when I don’t have to go out for food distributions, I’ve been doing graphic design so all of my non printed material or images for Bantuan Harapan Kampung Tunku was done by myself.

Question 5: For youths who don’t qualify for BPN, what should we do to alleviate our situation?

YB LIM YI WEI: In a research by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia (ISIS), it was found that youths who are school leavers between the ages of 18–21 and don’t qualify for BPN would be the ones most vulnerable. They suggested that the government should strengthen public and private sector partnerships through incentives to hire and retain young employees, especially those who rely on blue collar jobs which are experiencing the most losses. This is when the government needs to step in with such initiatives.

Another thing that can be done by the government is to provide training in states where youth unemployment is the highest and further down the road, maybe post-CMCO, look into debt restructuring so that young people are able to get a certain sense of financial security and a better social security. On the side of the Selangor government, we’ve postponed the debt repayment for our Tabung Biasiswa Anak Selangor and PTPTN.

Question 6: What would be your advice to people who are stressing out during CMCO?

YB LIM YI WEI: Social distancing does not mean emotional distancing. If you feel isolated and you need someone to express that, I would advise reaching out to Befrienders or the Talian Kasih 15999 line, the Malaysian Mental Health Association and an NGO called Relate Malaysia that offers online therapy sessions.

We’ve also been looking into the rise of domestic violence and child protection issues. P.S The Children is an NGO on child safety has done a collaboration with UNICEF Malaysia and WAO Befrienders provide numbers and provide the help victims needs during the rise of domestic abuse during CMCO

Question 7: What can youths do to help our community?

YB LIM YI WEI: Definitely to follow MOH’s guidelines and practice social distancing and cleanliness as that’ll be the biggest help to our frontliners. For young people, as we are connected to the internet and social media, and happen to speak the local dialects, do help any senior citizens in your family if they need explanations about new Covid-19 practices. There is a concern that a lot of older people may be left out of the messaging as the MOH’s messages are in Bahasa Malaysia and many older individuals in more rural areas who may be illiterate. As young people, we can reach out to them and make sure that everyone is safe and protected.

Lastly, keep following local developments and government announcements or policies as they will affect you. A lot of spending and project policies will change and affect you, so be aware as Undi18 was passed in parliament last July and thus you could be voters next time around.

Question 8: There has been a lot of misinformation being spread during CMCO, what can we do about it?

YB LIM YI WEI: You should always verify the news first and ask yourself if the message you’ve received is beneficial to spread it around. The second to ask yourself is: where did this information come from. When in doubt of health information, always refer back to MOH.

Question 9: What is your advice to people who get easily stressed during the rise in the number of cases?

YB LIM YI WEI: Ask yourselves, “what can we control?” and accept what you can’t control. The general MOH prescription has always been: “Stay at home” so continue to stay at home. Whether or not the numbers go up, it is the collective responsibility. Know your responsibility during this time and advise others, and as an individual, do not burden yourself with too much stress.

Audience Q&A

Question 1: In regards to concerns about scholarships and semester fees that students are missing out during the MCO, can the KPKT be pushed to do something about this?

Answer: That is under the purview of the MOE and if students take loans from PTPTN. At the moment, PTPTN has postponed loans for the time being but private universities would be a different ball game.

Question 2: Are the authorities looking out for the mental health of people during this long period of social distancing?

Answer: Most NGOs and the government have offered helplines and we must encourage people to reach out. The government is aware of this issue and even before the Covid-19 hit Malaysia, the government under the PH administration was working on a comprehensive mental health plan and I’m hoping that after CMCO, the health ministry will take on this plan as the economic concerns will lead on to stress issues

Question 3: What are the efforts the government should take to tighten the digital divide during this time?

Answer: When YB Gobind Singh’s time as the Minister of Communications and Multimedia, one of his big efforts was to improve internet coverage and introduce 5G. Through Covid-19 we can see that the digital divide has restricted opportunities for learning among students and I hope the ministry will continue on this infrastructure project. On the Selangor side, we used to have Wifi SMART Selangor but in the past two years, we’ve scaled back to reduce redundancy but taking into consideration everything that has happened with Covid-19, Selangor will be restructuring the wifi program to cater to areas that need wifi the most.

Question 4: Will the education ministry be taking any steps to train teachers to support students who may experience post-MCO PTSD?

Answer: I dont have the answer for that yet, but so far the guidelines released by MOE have been on how to conduct online teaching and the allowances a teacher can give students such as more time to complete homework. For the PTSD part, it is a very good point and we’ll look to bringing it up to the MOE.

Question 5: What is the best thing for youths to do financially at this point?

Answer: It depends on which rung of the socioeconomic ladder your family is on. I would say, spend wisely.

Question 6: What are the sort of activities youth can do to bulk up their CV during this time?

Answer: If you have a good internet connection, I would advise taking free online courses. You can choose from over 200+ free online courses on Coursera so you can take what you’re interested in.

Question 7: From your personal point of view, what are the long term effects in regards to the education sector?

Answer: It depends on how we view education and how we conduct teaching. My biggest concern will be for public schools that are not used to online learning and the transition from classroom to digital classroom. Furthermore on that, the other concerns higher education students that need facilities (science, engineering, computer, etc labs). Covid-19 is forcing us to take a step back and reassess how we assess students and it will shift how we manage our resources. Previously, where we could fit 200 students in a lecture hall, we can no longer do and it is these things that will shift the education sector.

QUESTION 8: What do you think the youth can do now to help the community?

Answer: If you live with senior citizens or young children, stay home as much as possible. Otherwise, volunteer at NGOs. Kampung Tunku has a food delivery programme to senior citizens who live alone, OKU and poor families and you’d be welcome to help out!

[END OF INTERVIEW]

Once again, from all of us at MYER Malaysia, we’d like to thank YB Lim Yi Wei for taking time out of her day to sit down and have a chat with us youths!