Civil military coordination in managing Covid 19 pandemic

Civil and military coordination is essential in any humanitarian operations to save lives. Symmetrical coordination is a must for the civil and military to operate during a virus disease outbreak effectively. COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty, complexity, and massive global impact is a lesson for the international to prepare for future biological hazards. In terms of methodology, this study uses a qualitative approach by combining all of the findings from the field study with primary and secondary data. The information on the primary data is the researcher's observation in the perspective of civil-military coordination in the involvement of OPERATION PENAWAR, OPERATION BENTENG and OPERATION BEKALAN MAKANAN SARAWAK during MCO. Besides, the information on the secondary data is research from books, articles, news, guidelines, SOP from relevant agencies, published journals, internet websites, and other public sources. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to analyse the role of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) role of Military Operation Other Than War (MOOTW) in responding to the humanitarian operations in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings and gaps identified in the research are crucial to improving civil and military symmetrical coordination to control the virus outbreak at a national and the ASEAN regional level. The findings at the strategic level are focusing on national policy implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile finding at the operational level is concerning the interoperability of MAF and Civil agencies. Additionally, the lesson learned from this study is beneficial to enhance the inter agencies cooperation in managing the COVID-19 pandemic and future potential biological hazards to maintain regional stability and security.