MAKING SENSE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S SOCIAL DISTANCING AND THE EMERGENCE OF VILLAGE BASED DISEASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE KELABIT HIGHLANDS OF SARAWAK

Poline, Bala (2022) MAKING SENSE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S SOCIAL DISTANCING AND THE EMERGENCE OF VILLAGE BASED DISEASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE KELABIT HIGHLANDS OF SARAWAK. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 17 (1). pp. 32-50. ISSN 2672-7226

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Abstract

The introduction of social distancing as a measure to slow the spread of disease related to COVID-19 has led to ongoing debate about its disruptive effects around the world. There is a wide variation in the response and the use of the measures to counter the pandemic. Drawing on cultural analysis, this paper aims to explicate the socio-cultural reasons for these differences. To this end, this paper throws light on a rural village in Sarawak to provide insight how local perspectives and interpretations have shaped community response to national mechanisms to curtail the spread of COVID-19 disease. This is by examining playful and colourful texts of local dialogues, narratives and anecdotes encountered via WhatsApp chats as the villagers negotiate to make sense of Malaysia’s movement control order (MCO). It argues that as social distancing measures begun to intersect with their perceptions of home and reorient their daily activities and cultural practices, the community tap into their village narratives and shared experiences in order to reconstruct a sense of meaning and order. Out of this, they formulate a village-based disease surveillance protocols, strategies and framework. The finding affirms growing calls for greater integration of socio-cultural approaches to health care strategies.

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