KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Malaysians should be flexible enough to adapt to and embrace the "new normal” that has arisen due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

It may even lead to traders possibly experiencing better trade by switching to online platforms and selling their products to the global market, the former prime minister added.

Dr Mahathir, 94, said what is considered normal is ever-changing according to the times, and that human lifestyle will always adjust to new norms.

"The normal that we have is only for a period, each time what is normal changes. If before we didn’t have mobile phones, now we have them. Our lifestyles change. Every day, we make phone calls, everyone has one in their pockets. This is normal,” he said during an online video interview with Sunway Medical Centre’s internal medicine and respiratory medicine specialist Dr Nurul Yaqeen Mohd Esa.

Noting that there is now an extraordinary obstacle in the form of the Covid-19 outbreak, Dr Mahathir said Malaysians will adjust themselves to measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infections such as self-isolating and avoiding crowded places.

"If previously there were football games where we had to be present, now football may be played in empty stadiums, with no one attending. We watch it on television, that is the new normal,” he said.

For those who are working, instead of physically being in the office for a set number of hours, Malaysians now can work from home, although they may not be as productive due to a lack of discipline or other distractions, he said.

"So, to work from home requires a new way of living,” he added during the interview that was carried "live” on his official Facebook page.

With home-schooling, Dr Mahathir said there may be an advantage as those who want to learn English can now access recorded lessons from experts instead of facing problems in the past such as when teachers are not fluent in the language.

He said that some may also see their business grow, referring to online businesses or e-commerce where the whole world becomes a "bazaar”.

"If we are in a village, how do we want to sell, or the domestic market in our country is small. Now with online, you can sell anywhere in the world, business may be even better,” he suggested.

With the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan starting in the next few days, Dr Mahathir said Muslims in Malaysia will have to adapt their lifestyle this year, citing as an example Ramadan bazaars now switching to online platforms.

Previously, in an April 6 interview, Dr Mahathir had also said that Malaysians may have to adjust to being paid lower salaries amid the movement control order (MCO) and to adjust their lifestyles to ones that cost less.

Yesterday, Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government will not be allowing any form of Ramadan bazaars or food stalls including e-bazaar, e-iftar, drive-through versions, or those involving self-collection of food after ordering, as such activities could result in crowds forming.

The only form of Ramadan food sales allowed would be those that involve food deliveries via e-hailing services, the minister had said.

On April 10, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had also said Malaysians will have to get used to the "new normal” due to the Covid-19 outbreak, such as refraining from shaking hands when meeting someone and adopting contactless greetings such as bowing, besides also frequently washing hands using soap and hand sanitisers besides wearing face masks.