Thread by @juanajaafar, I don’t know how others are coping out there, but I’m not. [...]

I don’t know how others are coping out there, but I’m not. Nightmares almost every night and anxieties that causes the heart to pound and hands to shake. The triggers seem aplenty, but I’ll write on 1 of it: Enforcement. And examples of it within 1km radius of my home.

Nightmares, like tonight’s. A mob, but calm. Seemingly friendly, but on a hunt for people who are ‘different’. You wake in a startle, sweating and gasping, ‘knowing’ that in that calm gathering (right outside your house) they’re seeking a kill.

https://twitter.com/britnidlc/status/1245081763665362945?s=21">https://twitter.com/britnidlc... https://twitter.com/britnidlc/status/1245081763665362945">https://twitter.com/britnidlc...

https://twitter.com/britnidlc/status/1245081763665362945?s=21

Fact: Right up to the eve of the Order, people were still meeting (physically) to work on cases of harassment and abuse of power by law enforcement officers/institutions. Then the Order begins and somehow the Coronavirus made all of them suci in the eyes of the public.

People cheered and begged for ‘action’ against those who might threaten the survival of their Covid-free selves. Deploy the military? Bring it on, they say. The language of war was already set by the media and politicians, so it’s perfectly apt to whip out the war apparatus.

The HQ for 1 such deployment is within 1km radius of my home. Visuals of their arrival ran in the media. They arrived with auto rifles. No one wants to say it aloud, but everyone knows those guns aren’t meant to kill the Coronavirus.

Next news report: Soldiers will ‘guard’ our community market. Also 1km radius from home. I drove for marketing duties with my heart pounding in my ears. The Coronavirus ceased to be the main concern.

They ended up not stationing the soldiers at the market. As many have said before, movement control can be done by civilian units. Foot traffic was managed by RELA and the city council. I want to say I was relieved, but I know the issue is bigger than our market.

I shop for 2 households (families). Under the Order, travel is allowed only for 1 person per household. The load is big, especially since the idea is to not go out every other day. Usually, 2 people go per household. It hurts the body, but okay, extraordinary times ...

Class & status become pronounced under the Order. I’m of the class that has food on the table. But within that there are other types too. Y’day, at the market: 2 lines wait for their turn to enter. Those on foot who parked further, those in cars waiting to park inside.

I was in the on-foot line. The guard walked towards us to take our temperature before letting us in, but detoured when a BMW wheeled up the car queue. BMW guy gets his temperature checked first. The temperature of everyone else standing will just have to rise in the meantime.

Inside, this time, I really couldn’t manage. I relied on long-standing relationship with the meat, veg and fishmongers to leave my containers/bags in their care while I aim for other things. By the time I was done, with all the time for social distancing, the market was closing.

I thought maybe I’ll drive the car closer so I can lug the bags in. But the guard said no. He was sympathetic, but was fearful that a higher-up person from a different enforcement agency (who was surveilling in the area) would reprimand him. Fear. Fear everywhere under the Order.

But ppl want to help ppl, so he called a fellow to help me. Unfortunately, my heaviest load included beef and the person he tasked was visibly Hindu. It didn’t feel right to ask him to carry what he otherwise wouldn’t have himself. I backtracked and asked friends at the stalls.

That evening, yet another dystopian-type mobile announcement in our neighbourhood. This time, to tell us the city council will be disinfecting. An example of a pointless, expensive operation that even DG of MoH can’t get behind

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇🏾" title="Down pointing backhand index (medium dark skin tone)" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index (medium dark skin tone)"> Who got this contract?

https://twitter.com/sacitycouncil/status/1246672169603436546?s=21">https://twitter.com/sacitycou... https://twitter.com/sacitycouncil/status/1246672169603436546">https://twitter.com/sacitycou...

https://twitter.com/sacitycouncil/status/1246672169603436546?s=21

The dystopia is real. Earlier in the week I had to do an emergency run for medication, also 1km radius from home. As soon as I stepped out after paying, a siren blared. It wasn’t the usual rapid siren you’d hear from police or bomba vehicles, or ambulance ...

It was a bencana siren. I’ve only heard this siren live once during a tornado alert, which was a traumatising experience. My reaction was to look up, for dark swirling clouds. None. Then I looked for drones. It’s been reported that the military is using drones during the Order.

This siren was shorter, followed by an announcement for people to stay in their homes. Loud AF, but I couldn’t find the source. I looked around and along the strip of shops. Barely anyone around, and certainly no crowd to disperse. Madness. I got home and hid under a blanket.

Yes, movement control. But not by any means necessary. People seem to be okay that the noose is tightening by the day, despite 90+% compliance rate within 1st 10 days of the Order. Worse than Covid-19 is the virus that makes ppl love a dystopian police state.

I’ve come across accounts of abuses at roadblocks which were met by responses like, “Imposter kot?” “Macam la polis ada masa nak sebok pasal tu time PKP”. Suddenly, abuse of power is a myth. Unless there’s video evidence, all “frontliners” are mulia in the age of Covid.

So I don’t know about you, but I’m not okay. Closing time has been brought forward to 8pm. My hands shake while paying as I hear shutters drawn in the shop next door. Phase 2 of the Order is seeing hundreds of arrests daily including poor ppl and migrants.

These cases pile on top of existing cases of abuse and human rights violations. When the courts and IPDs open for “business as usual”, and the fight against the (now kudeta) state continues, will the people still be drunk on their police-state-lovin’ stupor.

The dystopian duduk-rumah mobile announcement is happening now, again, in our neighbourhood. The sound of the Order lingers over quiet homes and bright morning rays ...............

Within 1km radius from home, a man in protective suit sits on a truck spraying disinfectant ..... on trees. The science behind this is weak, but it’s a seller’s market for chem companies with willing buyers in government.

Meanwhile, the poor are arrested for trying to get food.

Latest Threads Unrolled: