Lockdowns, Loss, and Dalgona: 5 Years Since COVID-19 Shut Down Malaysia, And The World

The crazy journey Malaysia went through included a super-spreader event, the Sheraton Move, and Anwar Ibrahim’s redemption arc.

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter, or Telegram and WhatsApp channels for the latest stories and updates.

So, it has been exactly five years since the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic on 11 March, 2020.

But, let’s rewind to early 2020. Before the face masks, before the PCR tests, before our grandparents knew what “Zoom” was. Malaysia, like most of the world, had no idea what was coming.

It started quietly on 25 January, 2020, when the country confirmed its first three cases of this strange new coronavirus. They were tourists from Wuhan, China – the epicenter of what would soon become a global mess. At the time, it felt like a distant problem. Malaysians were still going to kenduris, concerts, and teh tarik sessions like nothing had changed.

And then, boom – March hit.

The day everything stopped

The real turning point came after a massive religious event in Sri Petaling turned into a super-spreader bomb. Tens of thousands attended, and the virus had a field day. Cases exploded. The government went full panic mode and slapped down the Movement Control Order (MCO) on 18 March.

Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling, ground zero of the Covid-19 super-spreader event in Malaysia. Image: MYDX

Overnight, cities turned into ghost towns. Streets were empty. Cops and soldiers set up roadblocks. People started panic-buying Maggi and toilet paper. Suddenly, we were all stuck indoors – baking bread, sharing quarantine memes, and pretending to enjoy video calls with coworkers.

And while many of us were home making Dalgona coffee, others were out saving lives. Frontliners – nurses, doctors, delivery riders – became national heroes.

Yeah, that feels like another lifetime now.

Nothing like a trending coffee recipe to distract us from all the death happening outside. Image: Willas Kitchen

The pandemic begins – and so does political chaos

Just weeks before the country went into lockdown, Malaysian politics imploded. In late February 2020, we got hit with The Sheraton Move – a behind-the-scenes political coup that collapsed the Pakatan Harapan government and led to the resignation of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Cue confusion. Cue outrage. Cue a lot of “What just happened?!”

By 1 March, 2020, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin became the 8th Prime Minister under a new coalition: Perikatan Nasional. The country was still reeling from the political shakeup when, two weeks later, Covid-19 cases exploded due to the mass religious gathering in Sri Petaling.

On 18 March, the first Movement Control Order (MCO) began. Just like that, Malaysia was in lockdown – with a brand-new PM and a new government.

If that doesn’t sound like the start of a dystopian drama, I don’t know what does.

The vaccine era: A shot (or three) of hope

Fast forward to 2021. Things got worse before they got better.

Just as we were settling into our new-normal routines, the Delta variant showed up like an uninvited ex. This wave was brutal. Hospitals were overwhelmed. People were dying. Social media became a stream of obituaries. The mood shifted from lockdown boredom to collective grief.

But then, something good happened: vaccines.

There’s no way of knowing what would have happened if vaccines weren’t made, but we’d rather not find out.

Malaysia rolled out its National Immunisation Programme in February 2021. First, frontliners, then seniors, then everyone else, fighting for slots on MySejahtera like it was a PS5 drop. Despite the chaos, the country eventually vaccinated over 90% of adults. Not bad for a place where people love conspiracy theory messages on WhatsApp.

With that, the curve began to flatten. Again.

Meanwhile, the political drama continued. In August 2021, with public pressure and internal revolt mounting, Muhyiddin resigned.

Enter Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Malaysia’s 9th PM. Another new face, another coalition reshuffle. At this point, many Malaysians just wanted someone to fix the mess, regardless of what party they were from.

From crisis to cautious optimism

By October 2021, interstate travel reopened. Families reunited. Langkawi became the go-to escape for revenge tourism. For a moment, things felt normal.

Then came 2022, and with it, Omicron – the fast-spreading but relatively chill cousin of Delta. It didn’t hit as hard, thanks to the vaccine wall. So, on 1 April, the government said: screw it, let’s move on, and entered the endemic phase.

Malaysia reopened its borders. Quarantine rules were relaxed. Mask mandates stayed, but you could feel the collective sigh of relief.

Endemic doesn’t mean it’s gone, but people just wanted to leave the nightmare behind.

Transitioning to endemic, one PM later

Politically, the scene was still unstable. The general public wanted clarity, change, and maybe, just maybe, a government that would last more than a year.

So, in November 2022, Malaysia held a general election.

The result? A hung Parliament. Great.

After some wild negotiation and post-election drama, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister. After decades of political ups, downs, jail time, and comebacks, the reformist icon finally made it to the top job.

Malaysians had front-row seats to both a pandemic and a redemption arc.

“It’s my turn to shine!” – Fictional superhero Anwar Ibrahim.

2023 and beyond: rebuilding what was broken

By 2023, Covid-19 was still around, but the panic wasn’t. People had bigger things to worry about – like rebuilding businesses, getting jobs back, and trying to pay off debts from the lockdown days.

Tourism came back. Restaurants came back. Even traffic jams came back (yay?). Festivals returned with a vengeance. After three years of muted celebrations, Malaysians went big. Raya, Deepavali, Chinese New Year – you name it, we partied.

People were still getting Covid-19, but most cases were mild. Booster shots were common. Some folks still wore masks. Some didn’t. Life moved on.

2025: So… what did we learn?

It’s March 2025 now and Covid-19 hasn’t disappeared, but it’s no longer headline news. It’s like that annoying neighbor – still around, but mostly harmless.

The MySejahtera app is now more of a digital health passport than a virus tracker. Hospitals are back to business as usual. And those pandemic babies? They’re in preschool now.

We lost a lot in those five years – lives, jobs, moments. But we gained perspective, community, a crash course in public health, and a really weird collective memory that no one will ever forget.

And if you’re wondering what Malaysia learned from the whole experience?

We learned that a virus can shut down everything — but not the semangat of its people. We helped each other. We adapted. We survived.

Now we move forward. Tired, maybe. Wiser, definitely.

It may not be reported daily like when it first hit, but Covid-19 is still around with the latest data showing that daily cases are below 100 so lets be vigilant and stay safe.

Remember, kita jaga kita and nobody wants a repeat of the MCOs.