Colin Charles Agenda

It’s just another manic Monday.

Singapore Airlines has joined Cathay Pacific in slashing 96% of their routes. AirAsia is probably going to ground planes, MAS hasn’t provided a plan, but AirAsia is clear that they can’t even guarantee jobs. I guess we should expect some form of bailouts. Hong Kong just said there was a huge chunk of change for affected airlines (as they have locked down borders too; Hong Kong’s current wave is coming in from foreign imports).

Miss Wong’s in Siem Reap has shut her doors; I used to go there a couple times at least once a year, when I go to build a house for the poor. Siem Reap tourism was already dropping a little last year, so I guess Covid-19 just accelerated the process this year.

Malaysia got an address from the Prime Minister today (we recorded more deaths at 14, a huge spike in cases). He basically said you get stimulus of up to RM500 from your EPF Account 2. So rob your future self, by taking out money today. Sure it will unlock over RM40 billion if all take it out. But really? This is such a bad idea. It is also abundantly clear that many EPF contributors don’t have enough stashed in their Account 2 to even be benefitting from this.

I read a good article about families in low cost flats finding it hard to socially distance themselves (something like 7 people share 600sqft of space). On cable TV, there were interviews of people who live for the day up north, finding it hard to eat more than a meal a day, and now it consists of rice and soya sauce because they’re so poor and the MCO is affecting their livelihoods. I am speechless this is happening to fellow Malaysians.

In further news, we see the Prime Minister say that foreigners (think illegal workers too) will have to pay for their Covid-19 tests; takes DG Hisham to make another statement contrary to that. He seems to be the hero we all need. Singapore has agreed to open source their TraceTogether app (Bluetooth based contact tracing); let us see when the code gets released.

Unifi (Telekoms broadband) is having issues accessing some stuff on Amazon S3. It is clearly affecting my work. Routing issues because Maxis seems to be fine.

Work front, the only thing to say is: So much to do, so little time.

I woke up past my alarm, because it turns out the alarm did not ring. My iPhone seemed to have been completely dead (despite being plugged into the charger) and I had to do the Up/Down Volume then long press the power button. This is the first time it has happened to this iPhone (new, big, 3 cameras), though I’ll admit the uptime on the phone must have been weeks because I don’t power cycle it (it only gets a reboot during a software update which I feel I haven’t done in a while; all hail automatic updates).

I did something weird today — I got out the yoga mat, and joined some 500+ people at Ping’s Booty Popping class which she did live on Instagram. I mounted the iPad Pro on a chair and got a 30+ minute workout that got the Apple Watch happy. It is kind of a HIIT workout, so I hope I don’t feel pain tomorrow. I also did a 2.5+ minute plank (It was supposed to be a 5 minute plank, also via Nick who had given the push up challenge of yesterday). Spin instructors, always keeping you moving even when you don’t have a bike!

Enjoyed a bit more of the GrabFood subsidy via venture capitalists and ordered from Kenny Rogers today (same buy 2 get 1 free deal). I haven’t had Kenny Rogers in quite sometime (think a decade?) and it tasted quite good with the side dishes; besides who can pass up a RM16/meal deal?

I did get some work done, a bit of reading, and a bit of chatting. There was also a 2.5h Zoom hangout with my close set of friends (seems that this is getting longer). We just lamented that we left school approximately 20 years ago and now we see the IB exams are postponed (not happening in May, affecting 200,000 students). We did the O Level examinations, which were also around the same timeframe, 20 years ago. How time flies, and I never would have expected we’d be under a Movement Control Order.

The entire talk this weekend is how the MCO will be extended by another 2 weeks. The effects are going to be extremely detrimental and the government seems extremely clueless as to doing anything (and they love clawing back things, i.e. when people made noise about a 150% raise in prices of masks from 80 sen to RM2, they seemed to have rolled it back; now they’re saying only the head of the household can go out to buy groceries). In other news, what seems to be a rumour is that they don’t want you going a 10km radius around your home; all in ridiculous if true. There is so much fake news being spread though… it is shocking.

Singapore has virtually imposed border controls without calling it that. Thailand seems to have a surge in cases and my friends in Bangkok are in for a 3 week “lockdown”. London clearly seems to be focused on more lockdowns as well; and a nice beautiful sunny Sunday has gotten people out but not apart from each other. Parks are closing in response. We can’t have nice things because people abuse them!

I did my Sunday morning weigh in and I’m pleased that the weight is dropping a little despite not being able to spin (or hit the elliptical; or swim). I guess it also has a lot to do with eating a controlled portion of food, and ensuring I get a long break between an early dinner and breakfast (not religious about intermittent fasting; if it happens, it happens).

Malaysia is now at 10 deaths, most still linked to the tabligh cluster. What goes on at a Tablighi Jamaat event? I’ve read the Wikipedia entry, a few articles about people who were there, but there is nothing extremely comprehensive of how this several day affair leads you to have such a high infection rate. What was good was that today, at least from the Galen Centre, we see the amount of hospital beds, and the usage rate of the ICU and if memory serves, it is less than 20% utilised at the moment. But a lot of doctors themselves are also getting sick thanks to lying patients. I am reminded of Dr. Gregory House (I watched all of House, M.D.; even own a handful of DVDs; so sad to see it is not streaming on Netflix) who believes that Everybody Lies.

In other news, an old friend, Sabri (hi!), mentioned someone else is keeping a quarantine blog, so here’s Paolo. And Niki is blogging again.

As predicted, Oura was not pleased with me (some 5+ hours of sleep). Woke up to polish of a presentation, make a recording of it, and send it along. On a Saturday.

Semantics matter. I am wondering if journalists need to be a bit harder on the Health Minister, the Prime Minister, and the rest of his Cabinet. It is clear there is a very thin line between a Movement Control Order/Restricted Movement Order and a lockdown. Very thin (basically saying you need permits from the police to leave your house is all that Malaysia is missing).

Malaysia is at 8 deaths now (Singapore reported her first 2). The army will be around tomorrow. I expect more folk to be panicking. The key is still to be testing, though I am wondering why Malaysia is doing poorly here; it is also beginning to seem like testing only happens in Kuala Lumpur, whereas the rest of Malaysia sends it over to be tested. If only there was more upfront information about this.

Telcos in Malaysia are offering free data to keep people home. DiGi is my primary telco, but being on a business line, the offer doesn’t seem to apply. Silly because it is business people who are working at home that also need more data!

I’m seeing more politicians post messages about them staying at home and encouraging Malaysians to do the same. Some from their own pools. Some from their gyms. Some from the comforts of their palace. I feel all this is extremely tone deaf considering families live in 600sqft places and find it clearly hard to be socially distanced from each other.

I did a bit of a HIIT workout on a yoga mat I got years ago. Well, not necessarily HIIT — it was pushups (I managed 55, with breaks of course) and a bit of 180 squat jumps with some toilet paper rolls. Ref: TOILET PAPER WORKOUT….YES YOU HEARD ME RIGHT!. The pushups were sort of a challenge from Nick one of my spin instructors, and I learned about the toilet paper squat jumps from a friend Steph, and I enjoyed another spin instructor Chao’s music. Spotify is clearly a lot better than Apple Music when you subscribe to other people’s playlists. Boy do I miss a spin bike. I would buy a Peloton or SoulCycle bike if they sell it in more markets!

Post HIIT I was extremely sweaty. Maybe it is because I was not in my usual Lululemon workout clothes? Enjoyed sometime outside on a Zoom call that lasted for longer than I expected; again it was friends shooting the shit. We also benefitted from Zoom removing the 40-minute call limit which was very nice of them.

Worth noting that if you’re going to a grocery store, stuff that is backordered and sold out regularly tends to be eggs, chicken, milk and bread.

With the increase in deaths and the numbers going up, many are stating that Malaysia gets another 2 weeks of MCO. Frankly 2 weeks itself is a disaster, what more a whole month? No one is talking about aid. Newspapers are starting to ask if we’re prepared for a recession and people have opined that getting companies to stop the EPF matching payments make sense. I can’t imagine why everyone goes for the EPF — that is retirement savings. You’re practically robbing yourself tomorrow, to pay yourself today. The government does not help you in retirement. So much has to change.

Work has been busier than ever. I am not having to adjust to much, because I have never worked in an office, ever. I’ve been a 100% remote worker from day 1. Ever since I started working on open source in maybe 1998? The only adjustment for me is not flying around for ~250 days a year. So I’ll admit that my home office isn’t the best in terms of a setup, because if I ever needed longer periods of work time in KL, I do have an office; or I’d run away to Kuantan!

Anyway I do joke with a friend that I’d very much like to someday do an office job, the whole 9-5, but then I was told that it really is a 9-6, and there’s all this rush hour traffic you have to contend with. In fact, the only rush hour traffic I contend with is when I go to spin class early in the morning (I missed one class so far due to abnormal traffic; and then said I never wanted such an early class again!). So I don’t know if I would ever be ready for a 9-6. But I feel that I’ve missed out on a life experience many do go through.

I notice I have a podcast queue to go through. I listen to no podcasts when I’m not commuting generally. Or audiobooks. I have Spotify on my machines now; so I will admit I’m using Apple Music less.

We have more confirmation that the army is coming on Sunday for this partial lockdown. Oh dear. I guess the communications is a tragic comedy after all… this is what happens when you’re led by incompetents. This is martial law without calling it martial law. But we are reassured that there is no intention of calling it an emergency. Really? These people change their minds on a daily basis.

Cathay Pacific announced a 96% reduction in flights till end May 2020. They will still fly to KL but 3 times a week? And to just 15 destinations. NYC has been removed from the list. What a disaster. I was hoping to get back in the air come April. Maybe this will have to wait, after all.

I feel our journalists are doing an “ok” job, but are largely failing us, in Malaysia. We know that the 2nd death was of a 34 year old, mosque attendee but we do not know why he passed. Was there an underling issue? We have no idea what the situation is with test kits? We have almost no recovery stories and we have no idea what hospital capacities are at (we hear the primary Sg. Buloh hospital is full). We also hear that people are lying to doctors about their whereabouts, and this is putting medical staff in trouble too; they too have to get treated.

Netflix and YouTube have announced a reduction in streaming quality in Europe, to conserve bandwidth.

I am starting to get more SMS messages, mass sent, by the government. Why they did not use this earlier, one wonders?

It is confirmed our Health Minister is really not very bright. He went on TV to say that you should drink warm water, to kill the virus as it goes down your throat and the stomach acids finish it off. Social media went crazy with this.

We are starting to see Chinese media ask where the novel coronavirus really came from? They are starting to shift blame from Wuhan to America. It is ironic, because I was in Hong Kong in early October 2019, and spent the weekend in Central. I was asked how I saw it ending, and on 8 October 2019, said this, “Lam says she doesn’t need China help yet today. So… she’s hinting. But also I doubt China can pull anything. Maybe they’ll introduce sars soon to stop. Bioterror”. Back then it seemed like my mind was dark, but I did not see HK protests ending any other way.

We are seeing more countries shut their borders, Australia is claiming that they’re going for a 6 month shutdown. I bought this unlimited AirAsiaX pass (consider it a flying bond), but now I can’t use it just yet; I do hope that Korea/Tokyo is ready soon!

Almost right before bed, I see the UK say the government would step in and cover the cost of 80% of salary up to £2,500/month for any employee that is furloughed rather than made redundant. This is amazing; Malaysia needs to up her game.

Today is a late night for me (early morning?); I have been uncannily busy. Writing a presentation. Coding. Writing. Emails. Calls. Proposals. Oura will not be happy tomorrow.

I wake up to the Oura telling me I got all 3 crowns — 97 for readiness, 90 for sleep, and 87 for activity. It practically never gives me all 3 when I’m in KL and do a daily spin!

It does not take long for a couple of my friends to want to do a WhatsApp video call, and the three of us shoot the shit for a bit.

I’m supposed to be in Singapore today but thanks to the lockdown preventing me from leaving Malaysia, this isn’t happening. Besides, Singapore also requires you to have a 14-day stay at home if you arrived after Monday night, so it is not like I was given much choice. Folk spent some of Tuesday trying to get an exemption, but that didn’t quite work.

We get the first clue that Malaysia might deploy the army to uphold the lockdown from one of the ministers. There were calls to shutdown Bursa Malaysia, and the Securities Commission replied that they would not, and then the same people that called it claimed that they never called it. The circus is not just in the current ruling government, but much of her institutions. Anyway, Bank Negara also reduced banks Statutory Reserve Requirement (SSR) down to 2% from the previous 3% to free up about RM30b in liquidity. In finance news, the US Federal Reserve also started some swap lines with some key central banks (something they did in 2008 after maybe many months; this was much quicker action).

Our new Health Minister was either pandering to his audience or is a complete idiot when it comes to his portfolio because he went on live TV to tell people that the “virus loves humans”.

In London, some tube stations started shutting down. However, nature reserves are staying open, they are encouraging you to go out and breathe some fresh air. Springtime in London is truly quite beautiful, and it is a smart move; something I wish Malaysia learned from.

I will naturally be focused on places that mean a lot to me besides just KL. I have friends in London, and it might as well be my second home. Portland yesterday, but NYC, etc. all matter. So Life with Rona is my life during this time, and what I care about.

Just as I was planning to go to bed for some reading, I noted that Dr. Mahathir is in self-quarantine as he was in close contact with a DAP MP (young chap, 33?) who tested positive for Covid-19. Imagine that. A 95 year old elder statesman. Let’s hope he get’s well soon.

I was not planning to link to things as this is a dump of my thoughts at the end of each day, but you have to see this message from Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International. Marriott is my 2nd hotel chain preference (they were never a preference but they did purchase Starwood, and SPG was my 2nd preference after Hyatt always, largely due to footprint). It is 5 minutes long and is a great example of how you can deliver poor news. Shows clear leadership in a tough time. What did not hit me as hard was how bookings are down (I know this, I’ve been knowing this since February as I talk to hoteliers and spent the last few weeks in Bangkok/Tokyo), but the fact that they consider this worse than 9/11+2008 crisis combined; and we are literally just starting this journey with the SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19.

The answer is not lockdowns. The answer is frequent testing. Isolation when necessary. Life has to go on as we can’t stop the world this way.

I toyed with writing a “live journal” about this interesting time, and a friend mentioned the name, Life with Rona, so that’s how it got its name.

We are under a Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia. Some call it a Movement Restriction Order (MRO). This is to last for 14 days, and you are told that you can only go out of your homes for essential activities.

As of today, hotels are now included in the list of essential services, but just last night I spoke to a handful of hoteliers who were planning to shutdown as soon as their last guest checked out.

We are living in a time of very poor communications. On Monday, 16 March 2020, we were told about this MCO, but told it was not a lockdown. We were given just a little over 24 hours to escape the nation if we needed to. I had a friend and his family head to the airport yesterday to be on standby, get on a plane, and also some of his family cleared immigration and waited for the next flight. Imagine just waiting for your next flight at the KLIA departure lounge (I believe they were at the Plaza Premium Lounge, which isn’t the worst place to be; could have been a very crowded departure gate).

Malaysians have probably last faced something similar after the May 13 1969 riots. No one of my generation knows what a MCO/MRO/lockdown feels like. And with such poor announcements and lack of trust in the government of the day, it would seem that things are not as rosy.

I for one think lockdowns are not sensible, and we just need to increase testing. Lockdowns harm the economy, no one seems to be thinking of that. Whatever the administration has promised is paltry to whatever losses are going to amount to. It is ironic that on Twitter, we see “Lockdown Malaysia” as a trend, which goes to show how a lot of my fellow Malaysians lack systems thinking; lockdown long enough and they’ll have so much free time on their hands but no ability to pay their Internet bills to tweet.

Just yesterday I saw that Powells in Portland, Oregon laid off hundreds of employees across their network of bookstores. I personally am a shopper there, so this is heartbreaking. We will see this in Malaysia.

Also, we encountered out first death from COVID-19 yesterday. And the police yesterday lifted an interstate travel ban, or at least a requirement to register that they were departing the state (crowd at police stations, great way to spread a virus, no?). So many did an exodus to “balik kampung”. Don’t get me wrong, I too thought of departing, but with a sick father, and my mother being the primary carer, I thought it would make sense to ride it out like the rest of my Malaysian brethren.

Today we see Trump refer to it as the “Chinese virus”. Steven Mnuchin believes that in 2 weeks, cash will be sent to every American. In Malaysia, we are always talking about means testing, trying it via e-wallets, etc. I’m sorry but when there is a crisis like this, everyone is equally affected. Don’t means test. Give it to everyone. The so called T20 also have commitments like the M40 and B40.

Love seeing defiant people jog/run/walk in public parks. It is apparently closed. People are still gathering in eateries today. Maybe waiting for takeout, but there is no “social distancing”. I more or less exercised at home. Not much of an exercise, but in the time of corona, I will just make do with achieving my Apple Watch move goal. Which by the way, has been going on for 180 days, non-stop; what a great way to start being locked in, eh?

We also get the first warning that this “partial shutdown” may extend beyond two weeks. I have not spent a period this long in Kuala Lumpur since maybe my college days, so I can say, 20 years. A long time. I’ve not gone anywhere since my return from Tokyo.

Food-wise, to plan for the worse, I ordered from GrabFood at lunchtime and dinnertime (though I did not consume dinner; had a call) — both were from Lim’s Fried Chicken. First time trying it. Good value. Especially since I paid for 2 packs and got the 3rd pack for free, with free delivery. VC subsidies rock!