After almost three months of enduring the tight MCO period, our country’s ‘quarantine’ phase is slowly being lifted as we prepare to move onto a ‘new normal’ version of our regular lives. But looking back, we realised that there were so many things in the pre-MCO era that we never really appreciated until it was (temporarily) gone! Thus, we asked around to find out what are some of the things you think you’ve been taking for granted that you’re now very grateful for:
1. Going to the barber (and/or salon)
The salons being closed may not have seemed like a big deal for women but for the guys, it was a living nightmare. We definitely saw a lot of guys sporting the classic Bieber-style hair during the MCO period and for some, it came complete with a full lion’s mane consisting of a moustache and beard.
“The whole time during the MCO, my barber was probably the person I missed the most (apart from my family members, of course).” – Jason, 29
We know you miss your barbers and hairdressers but before you visit them, do make sure to take the utmost precautions and only go if you really need to. Plus, that Bieber hair ain’t that bad you know!
2. Washing my clothes at the laundromat
“Out of all the things that were banned during the MCO, not being able to wash my clothes was probably the craziest one!” says Sha, 25.
“I don’t have a washing machine at my place because I guess I’ve always assumed the laundromat would ALWAYS be available. So as a result, I had to hand-wash my clothes most of the time. It was a humbling experience hahaha.”
3. Travelling to our neighbouring states on the weekends
Back in the pre-MCO era, going on a one-day trip to neighbouring states like Seremban or Melaka, or even going back to our kampungs to visit family, seemed like a normal weekend activity for those living in Klang Valley.
“My girlfriend and I love going on food-hunting trips over the weekends. Sometimes we’d even go to Melaka just to have satay celup, and return home at night. But the MCO put a halt to a lot of our foodie trip plans and it was torture!” – Haziq, 26
Guess we never truly appreciated our freedom until it was gone!
4. Having the convenience of public transport
For those living in the city, we’ve gotten so used to taking public transportation especially to avoid bumper-to-bumper traffic and the infuriating lack of parking spaces. Not to mention, they’re much cheaper too!
“Ever since the MCO, I’ve been a little paranoid to ride the train or bus because of the number of passengers on board. But that only leaves me to drive or utilise e-hailing services, which are both SO expensive!” – Tina, 31
5. The hard work and dedication of our Abang Poslaju & Abang food delivery
Seems like not even a global-wide pandemic can stop Malaysians from shopping. More than anything, the MCO has probably encouraged Malaysians to shop and eat even more thanks to online shopping sites and food delivery apps; so much so that Poslaju received an average of over 600,000 parcels every day!
“What amazed me is that sometimes I’d receive parcels late in the evening or the food riders would send my food in spite of the rain. Just goes to show how hardworking they are!” – Hana, 30
To all abang poslaju and abang food delivery, you guys are our daily heroes!
6. Having our wives/ mums/ kakaks do all the grocery shopping for us
When it was announced that the ‘ketua rumah‘ had to be in charge of all the shopping duties, it definitely presented some… challenges for our male counterparts.
“I never realised how little knowledge I had of cooking ingredients. All these different types of fish (which still look the same to me) and the different sayur-sayuran (what’s the difference, they’re all green!) have made me realise I should really appreciate my wife a whole lot more.” – Lee, 24
7. Late-night lepak sessions at the mamak with the gang
Lepak-ing at the mamak is one of the most Malaysian things we do daily. So when the MCO was enforced, not only did we have to bid a temporary goodbye to the glorious roti canai and nasi kandar, it also meant that we couldn’t have catch-up sessions over teh tarik with our gang that would usually go on for hours! Sure, we can always chat via video calls, but the ‘feeling‘ is just not the same, okay!
8. Watching LIVE sports matches
Be honest, never in our wildest dreams did we imagine we’d be living in a world where there wouldn’t be a SINGLE. LIVE. SPORTS. TOURNAMENT. TO. WATCH in over two months!
Not just in Malaysia, but it affected sports fans all across the globe where they went through heartbreak when their favourite sports events like football or badminton had to be postponed, while some events were completely cancelled! But thankfully, after months of torture waiting, the good news all football fans have been waiting to hear has arrived…
The Premier League 2019/20 is FINALLY returning and Malaysians can catch all of it starting 18 June 2020!
That’s right! The wait is finally over and you can now watch ALL remaining matches of the season on Astro SuperSport! At this stage, all 20 clubs still have either nine or 10 fixtures each to complete. So really, anything can happen and you wouldn’t want to miss a second of it! Wanna know the best part?
You can catch every live match on Astro or stream it on their Astro GO app!
The Premier League returns at the best time too as loyal Sports Pack customers who were already subscribed to Astro not only enjoyed a free preview of all channels during the MCO period, but also received a RM20/month rebate for the months of June and July.
Here’s what one customer said:
Source: Facebook
The customer wrote “Thanks Astro for giving us Sports Pack customers a RM20 rebate for the months of June and July, which totalled up to RM40.” On top of that, he also noted how Astro had been giving Sports Pack customers full access to all the other channels throughout the MCO period!
Plus, not only can you enjoy the Premier League, but other leagues and sports events have restarted as well like La Liga and PGA Tour, while others have been scheduled to return including:
- Serie A
- Formula 1
- NBA, and many more!
We don’t know about you guys but we seriously can’t wait!
Make sure you don’t miss out on this! The sports drought is finally over and it’s about time we get our game faces back on!
For more information on upcoming Premier League fixtures, head over to StadiumAstro.com, or you can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest updates on the sports world.
Which EPL team do you support? Sound off below!
