This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 15, 2020 - June 21, 2020

Civil servant Encik Labi, 58, and retired skipper Captain Labu, 67, catch up for a late evening meal on June 10 after Malaysia entered the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) phase. They share a table at a kopitiam and sit diagonally across from each other. This is the conversation that ensues.

Labu: It is so nice to be able to get out and catch up at last. Such a relief that we have been reporting very few Covid-19 cases and almost all businesses can restart.

Labi: Yes, I have missed speaking to friends face to face. And at our age, we need to be extra careful. I think we need to get used to what people are referring to as the new normal.

Labu: I make it a point to carry a hand sanitiser and spare mask. Sometimes, after wearing the mask for a bit, I am able to smell my own breath and it is not good! Even worse, my spectacles fog up and I end up touching my face all the time. I want to be able to move around without a mask!

Speaking about moving around, my daughter and son-in-law want to travel. They have been saving up airline points to go on an epic journey this year. But they are now having unnecessary worries.

Labi: Worries?

Labu: My daughter and son-in-law charge everything on their credit cards to collect points, which are then converted to airline points. My son-in-law also collects airline points as he travels extensively. Since the MCO on March 18, their spending has reduced. My daughter is worried that she will have to pay the hefty annual credit card fee as she is unlikely to hit the minimum spend to get a waiver.

On the other hand, my son-in-law appears to be having what can be described as “point”-less concerns over losing his airline loyalty status as he hasn’t been able to travel. While some airlines have been gracious enough to extend the expiry date of their passengers’ loyalty status, the airline he is devoted to has not made such an offer.

For now, Malaysians are not allowed to travel overseas until Aug 31, but who knows if the restriction will be extended.

Labi: Ahh … I too have a “points-collector” friend, whose primary concern is whether airlines will still exist when all this is over. At stake is RM30,000 worth of points as he has amassed hundreds and thousands of points!

Labu: Even though the points can be used to make purchases, the value derived from converting them to air miles tends to be better. As such, I wonder exactly when it will be safe to travel.

Labi: Experts are saying things won’t revert to normal until a vaccine is found. The domestic market is expected to recover first, and most people think international travel may be safe by end-2020, while others feel 2021 will be safer.

Labu: At least now we can travel interstate. New Zealand has done an impressive job. Last week, the country lifted almost all Covid-19 restrictions as it hasn’t had an active case in over two weeks. While it still hasn’t reopened its borders to foreigners, it is looking at a travel bubble, called the Trans-Tasman bubble, to allow travel between New Zealand and Australia to kick-start the economy. Other Pacific islands with no recent cases are pleading to be allowed to join them.

Labi: Speaking about recovery, I read that bookings for Carnival Cruises in August jumped despite all the scary stories we have been hearing about how Covid-19 spread easily on cruise ships, so much so, that countries did not allow many of them to dock. Bookings for the cruise line surged 600% from a year ago as soon as it opened reservations, and bookings for August 2020 are 200% higher than in 2019!

Labu: Well, I guess businesses have to restart at some point. Who knows, we too may see a wave of “revenge travelling” as soon as our borders open.

Labi: Let’s try and meet again after two weeks. Hopefully, everyone continues to maintain good hygiene and social distancing and we do not see a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases now that we have entered the RMCO phase and everyone can socialise and travel.

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