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EXPERT OPINION

THE WORLD POST-COVID-19:

SCIENCE AND BRIDGING DIVIDES:

THE RESPECT AND DIALOGUE

NEXUS

DISCLAIMER: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR. THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY
REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITIONS OF THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND UNIVERSITY MALAYA.

On the eve of the Covid-19 outbreak, a global rivalry was fermenting between the world’s unilateral camp
exhibited by American primacy and a multilateral camp represented by the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and
China) grouping, with tacit backing from many countries in Europe, South Asia, and Latin America. Looking
back, only an occurrence as momentous as 9/11 had brought people together in the face of the global
terrorism pandemic. I may emphasize here that the notions of ‘respect’ and ‘dialogue’ (R&D) are essential
during this current crisis, where multilateralist or multi-stakeholder respecting and interacting with each
other - although crisis tends to steer behaviours towards limited openness demonstrated in those dark days
of 9/11.

The Covid-19 pandemic showed us that we are all one. Human beings may have different dreams, but they
all go to bed under the same sky every night. For that, we are all set to face numerous challenges in the
post-Covid-19 era. At present, the UN Secretary-General, and almost everybody in international
development, are perturbed because the collective and positive chi that prevailed globally when the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development was launched in 2015 is no longer applicable valid today.

In March 2020, Mr Antonio Gutteras called for an immediate ceasefire in every conflict zone. This call did
not only open the windows of diplomacy and dialogue but also brought hope to the people at the war zone
who are also dealing with Covid-19. The call is also endorsed by many InterAction Council (IAC) members.
This Council has more than seventy members, including the Nizami Ganjavi International Centre, a
multinational forum of concerned leaders.

Perhaps in the hope that the UN would again assume its collective role as the guardian of international
peace and security during this crisis, and the UN Secretary-General advocated that the world must turn to
‘science and solidarity’ and combat the spread of ‘the global misinfo-demic.’ Undeniably, the current
pandemic underlines the importance of accurate scientific knowledge provided by respected national
science advisory mechanisms to guide political decisions. Unfortunately, we have witnessed how political
leaders in Italy, Brazil, Spain, the UK, and the US only paid lip service to science-based advice and pushed
their countries to the brink of catastrophe. In all five cases, after initially disregarding the assertions and
data provided by science advisors, they - somewhat belatedly - changed course.

The UN Secretary-General must likewise be disappointed with the failure of regional groupings to respond
to the current crisis. For instance, when the epidemic struck Italy, Spain, and other European countries,
none of the said countries received the expected aid from their European partners.
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