‘COMMUNITIES VITAL TO FIGHT COVID-19’
Lam Thye says community leaders can help with communication and education platforms
AFTER one year of facing the Covid-19 pandemic, the Alliance for Safe Community finds that community participation and empowerment to fight the coronavirus is still below the desired level.
Although there was no global gold standard of community participation, alliance chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye yesterday said it took strong governance to mobilise resources and provide clear leadership to lead the country’s pandemic response.
“We believe that Malaysia could do much better in community participation and empowerment to fight the coronavirus, should the pandemic resurface in coming years.
“What is needed now is to mobilise the entire community to participate in the pandemic response, as well as the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
“For a start, the government can appoint community leaders to cabinet or ministrylevel committees or task forces.
“For example, they can start by appointing these leaders to be a part of the Covid19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Committee.
“These committees or task forces are mostly staffed by leaders or senior civil servants in the federal government.
“It is crucial for the government to engage with community leaders and technical experts instead of relying on internal resources, as top-down paternalism is not sustainable.”
Lee said these leaders could help with communication and education platforms, as they could link the government to the community.
“The government should engage with communities as equal partners, instead of issuing top-down directives.
“By having these leaders on board, they can act as a feedback mechanism, sending information and concerns from the community to the government.
“Ideally, they will help mobilise resources, filling in small gaps in the community, and leaving the large gaps to the government, while promoting community resilience and cohesion.
“This is why it is more relevant to appoint community leaders to participate in these task forces.”
He said the participation of non-governmental individuals (NGIs) and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) could be mobilised as a bridge to strengthen decision-making in Putrajaya.
“A structured participation of NGOs and NGIs could have created more acceptable standard operating procedures.
“They bring genuine concerns, experience and networks to making decisions more realistic, instead of having those decisions issued from an ivory tower.
“They could also assist with the implementations of decisions reached by the government, which is often the missing link between civil servants in Putrajaya and in the field.”
He said allowing for active engagement between the government and communities was another step to empowering community participation.
“The government should provide space for those in communities to decide on how they can help to strengthen their community participation during this pandemic, instead of providing a one-size-fits-all framework.
“They should make it easier for these communities to find a balance between sufficient oversight while ensuring transparency and integrity, and having enough freedom to operate, to encourage more citizens to join community activities.”
He said regular participation from those on the ground would improve familiarity and trust between government officers and the community.
“Community leadership and participation are crucial for a successful vaccination programme.
“Having community organisations participate in vaccine logistics, delivery and long-term training of community health workers will contribute to building vaccine confidence in the communities.”