Malaysia announced on Mar. 16 that they would be imposing a lockdown from Mar. 18 to 31.

How Singapore has responded

As governments scramble to manage the Covid-19 outbreak within their countries, it is inevitable that routines and plans will be severely disrupted.

But this announcement in particular has grave implications both Singapore and Malaysia, given how intertwined our economies are.

To reassure anxious Singaporeans, Minister for Trade Chan Chun Sing has reiterated that our food supplies are stable, and that we have planned for the scenario of food disruption.

He also said the Singapore government will also be working with companies, dormitory operators and hotels to provide accommodation options for affected Malaysian workers.

Also, as it turns out, supplies from Malaysia will continue despite the lockdown.

Our preparedness didn't happen overnight

In response to this sequence of events, ex-Nominated Member of Parliament Calvin Cheng said that Singapore's response to Malaysia's lockdown measures were not built up overnight.

In fact, we have been "keeping calm since August 10th, 1965".

In a Facebook post on Mar. 17, Cheng said:

"You really think we reacted overnight ? No, these are plans laid out carefully over 55 years, every day living like we did since August 10th 1965."

Addressing his message to young Singaporeans in particular, he talked about the context of Singapore's independence in 1965.

Thrust into independence and "kicked out" by a country, Cheng said that Singapore has worked to create a stockpile of essential goods over the years to mitigate vulnerabilities.

This includes building up a supply of fuel, food, water and medical supplies.

He said:

"If there is one country that has been preparing for disaster, it has been Singapore.

When your country is founded on the premise that it won’t survive... you have to live every day as if there isn’t going to be a tomorrow."

Cheng concluded his post by urging Singaporeans to "keep calm and look after each other".

This is his Facebook post:

Top photo via Calvin Cheng/FB, Wikipedia.