LETTERS: In the past month, the world witnessed the spread of protests related to Covid-19 in multiple cities, including Belgrade and Amsterdam.
Most recently in Berlin, 20,000 people protested against their government for imposing lockdowns and curfews in anticipation of a second wave of outbreak.
The perceived ineffectiveness of lockdowns to curb the virus and the economic downturn each country experiences have brought right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists to the streets.
Fortunately, Malaysia has been spared since the beginning of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March.
It is possible to say that Malaysians are more supportive of the social regulation measures introduced by the government.
This is supported by an online survey we conducted involving 738 respondents across all backgrounds in Malaysia.
The results show that the public is supportive of the government's decision to regulate movements in curbing the spread of Covid-19.
An overwhelming majority agree on the government's decision to temporarily ban mass gatherings (95.1 per cent) and to restrict social and cultural activities (91 per cent).
Furthermore, 92 per cent of respondents agree to suspend religious activities that involve social gatherings.
It appears that Malaysians are prioritising the health and welfare of the community over individual rights.
This is possible due to the decisive and united leadership shown by the government to nip in the bud this pandemic before it overwhelms public health.
However, the respondents of the survey seem to be divided when it comes to immigration and border control. Only 32 per cent agree for our citizens abroad to be allowed to return and 48 per cent opine that undocumented migrants should be allowed to screen for Covid-19 without punitive measures.
In other words, Malaysians are still worried about re-opening borders. There is fear that imported cases may bring Malaysia into a second lockdown similar to what is happening in Melbourne.
This is not far-fetched as multiple recent clusters in Malaysia are related to Persons-Under-Investigation who entered the country from Russia, Nigeria, Australia, India and Saudi Arabia.
The public support for social regulations by the government is accentuated by the respondents' high support for military involvement in assisting the police force in carrying out social regulations (89 per cent).
Instead of fighting against the government, the public have shown willingness to work with the authorities.
This is in stark contrast to the United States, where the wearing of face masks has become political with President Donald Trump going against the advice of Dr Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert.
However, the president appeared to make a U-turn early last week when a campaign email signed by him requested supporters to don face masks.
Malaysia has much to be proud of. In April, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah was recognised by the China Global TV Network as one of top three doctors in the world alongside Dr Fauci and New Zealand's Ashley Bloomfield in fighting against the spread of Covid-19.
Last month, a Japanese think tank ranked Malaysia second behind Taiwan in its response to fight the virus.
All of these would not have been possible without the support and dedication of Malaysians, as evidenced by the survey results, towards social regulation efforts by the government throughout the various phases of the MCO.
Dr Syaza Shukri, Dr Rabi'Ah Aminudin, Dr Norhaslinda Jamaiudin, Dr Rohana Abdul Hamid, Dr Lee Pei May
Department of Political Science, International Islamic University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times