Hard lockdown. Soft lockdown. No interstate travel allowed. Inter-district travel allowed. Pools and parks open, then closed. No more than one to a car, then two. Restaurants at 50 per cent capacity. Mask-wearing compulsory. Small family gatherings okay. Open for domestic tourism, but quarantine for returning visitors.
In countries like Malaysia where strict measures have been taken to try to contain Covid-19, there have been so many iterations of the rules since the pandemic started in 2020, with spells of opening up alternating with the return of restrictions as a new variant emerges, that we have become used to incremental changes. Initial outrage at disruption to daily routines – what do you mean the condo’s gym is shut indefinitely? – gave way to reluctant compliance. Buffeted by the regulations we had to admit were there to protect us from a virus that has killed millions globally, it has been easy to lose sight of just how dramatically our lives changed.
Even those who have been fortunate have lost something
Next month not only marks the beginning of Ramadan, significant in itself: but also for Malaysia 1st April will be when the country’s borders finally fully reopen for vaccinated travellers. Just over two years after we found ourselves under a very tough “Movement Control Order” with 36 hours’ notice, it set me thinking about the enormity and strangeness of this time.
At first it felt unbearably claustrophobic. I’d managed to buy a $30 step machine the night before the lockdown started – and it was the best 30 bucks I ever paid, since we were essentially confined inside for months. The police told security guards to stop residents walking around in their own car parks. One person per household could leave home to buy essential groceries, and that was it.
In many countries this whole period, with all its variations about what we could or could not do, will soon be in the past; although it is remarkable to consider that my seven-year-old son will have spent nearly one third of his life under the shrunken horizon and with the minimised personal contact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Normal life cannot return for the huge numbers who have lost jobs, businesses, or loved ones. Their trauma will remain. It cannot be alleviated by the lifting of restrictions that will inevitably accompany accepting that the virus is now endemic.
In other ways, however, even those who have been far more fortunate have lost something. Home schooling – problematic for so many reasons – is one of the most obvious examples. Two of my former colleagues at the country’s national think tank, Calvin Cheng and Harris Zainul, recently wrote that “Asian Development Bank estimates suggest "learning losses" for Malaysia’s children from the shift to remote learning are among the highest in Asia”.
And for everyone, as of March 18, 2020, so many of the ceremonies and rituals that signpost our lives disappeared overnight. After Ramadan comes Eid Al Fitr, or Hari Raya Aidilfitri as we call the feast in Malaysia, and it is hard to overstate what a celebration it is here. For a whole month, families, officials and even workplaces hold “open houses” to which members of all faiths are invited.
Although people dress in brand new “baju Melayu”, traditional Malay attire, they are relaxed and festive gatherings. Attendees try not to over-indulge in the vast arrays of local cuisine laid out – not least as many will go to two, three or even four open houses on the same day.
When I worked at the national think tank, one year the open house in the gardens of our colonial-era bungalow featured a bouncy castle. My younger son, who loved it, presumed it was a permanent fixture, possibly for the children of staff, or even for furrow-browed economists and security analysts to blow off steam on in between penning serious policy papers.
But there has been none of that for the last two years, just as we have experienced no repeat of witnessing an old friend’s residence fill up with well-wishers the day after he died, when all three of Malaysia’s then current and former prime ministers came to pay their respects, to offer prayers and share reminiscences.
Family members have died during this time, but even when there were small gatherings, those who lived in close proximity to elderly relatives like us had to restrict their movements for fear of passing on the virus to the vulnerable. Other regular fixtures, such as meeting two other families to swim and eat at a beautiful golf course in the shadow of Kuala Lumpur’s Twin Towers every Sunday morning, ceased abruptly as well.
These rites and habits will return. At the same time, things have changed irrevocably. Economies and businesses have been severely affected. Many firms or favourite restaurants have gone under.
Bigger picture: will the rest of the world forget how the West hoarded vaccines and found time to be hugely sympathetic to Ukrainian refugees, but not to those from the Middle East? How easily humanitarian catastrophes in Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar have been pushed to the margins of the western-dominated international media when it is a European country that faces disaster.
For one thing two years of the pandemic has shone a light on is the fact that we are not "all in this together" – not when after all this time a mere 15 per cent of the adult population in Africa has been fully vaccinated.
If, as some suggest, the crisis in Ukraine is likely to lead to a reshaping of the international order, this is something that must be born in mind. Building back will only be better if it means a new global equity, in which a life in Kabul is not deemed to be worth less than one in Kyiv.
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
SPECS
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NBA FINALS SO FAR
(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
More on Quran memorisation:
The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco
Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan
Four stars
THE%20SPECS
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
