ORDERING DELIVERY HAS BECOME A NEW NORM IN MALAYSIA

According to our country's health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has said, since most of the people living in the city area have received the vaccinations, the pandemic is now coming to an end, which is endemic. A lot of new normals were “created” during this pandemic, such as wearing a mask, washing your hands frequently, constantly sanitizing your belongings, or maintaining at least 1m social distance. As far as we know, the Covid-19 virus did not disappear or entirely under human control. Although the virus is still spreading, those who have been vaccinated will have an immune system that can combat it. So the situation will not be too awful or lead to people's deaths. However, even if the number of cases has dropped considerably, we, the Malaysians, should not take it lightly.

Therefore, I suggest a "new normal" so that Malaysians can learn from it and help others directly or indirectly. The simplest strategy to maintain social distance from people is to normalise food delivery in order to minimise human contact.

Contactless food delivery service, pictured by GrabFood.

First and foremost, customers can use the food delivery services provided by food delivery platforms or applications, such as Food Panda, GrabFood, Shopee Food, and others. Some fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s also have their food delivery applications. Food delivery apps are simple to use, and it saves a lot of time. People only need to look at their phones, select an item from the menu, add it to their cart, double-check that everything is fine, and then check out and pay using cards or cash. It's far superior to people driving or walking to any shop on the street. Most importantly, it is risk-free; people do not need to risk their lives because the virus is ubiquitous and unexpected. Because we can't see the virus and the delta variant is more contagious, and people might get infected.

Advertisement by McDelivery Malaysia and steps of contactless food delivery.

Secondly, normalising food delivery services will provide more working opportunities for people. MCO has impacted many businesses and resulted in job losses since March of 2020. The economy of the country was also affected. If more people use food delivery services, the demand for delivery boys or girls in the market will grow and directly assist many jobless people in finding new jobs. They're also on the front line. We are not allowed to leave our homes during MCO. A lot of people's lives were saved because of food delivery. Many people who work as delivery men are the head of the household of their families, and they are all willing to put their lives in danger. So, if people think tipping is essential for them, which is good, to be honest. However, tipping is not compulsory, so don't feel obligated to do so. Also, don't forget that we must be courteous to all delivery men. Customers reportedly rebuked delivery men due to the time delay, according to several news reports. There could be a traffic jam, a sudden downpour, or the restaurant may have received too many orders, leading the delivery men to be late in delivering the order. Every worker is just trying to earn a living, so please be respectful and considerate of them.

Third, food delivery services, not only delivery men, help many restaurants keep operating during the pandemic. Because the SOP said that dine-in is not allowed in certain locations or that the number of people who can dine-in at one time is limited. Many restaurants were impacted, and net profits were dropping. The government allows us to "tapau" food from restaurants, but, as I stated previously, ordering food delivery is preferable. That’s why restaurants might follow this trend, as the food delivery segment is now growing incredibly fast.

The creation of new norms is not solely for the purpose of combating the virus. When our lives were peaceful, we didn't notice the importance of these "new norms". It only came to our attention when we were in danger, and new norms, in my opinion, must be followed on a daily basis. So that we can keep our minds on track and protect ourselves from harm.

CREATIVE WRITING

Done By: YUKI CHO YUNG KEE

19th November 2021

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