Djohan Shahrin

A wide range of emotions is on display as students head back to school this week after a long enforced break from the physical classroom due to Covid-19. Mindful of public health concerns, authorities have put in place strict SOPs to circumvent further spread of infection but while some children can't wait to rejoin their friends in school, others may take a while more to adjust.

With much of the country still subject to restrictions on movements, the traditional lion dance has been far from the spotlight, forcing performers who normally rake in high profits this season to find other means of earning a living.

While many aspects of Chinese New Year will be different or entirely missing under the movement control order this year, families such as that of Fong Teck Keong in Kampung Baru Ampang will still gather for reunion dinners under strict health SOPs.

Lim Tiap Beng, fondly known as Uncle Kapitan in his village in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, has lived alone since his mother passed away 34 years ago. While he still has a sister and other family members, he will spend Chinese New Year alone in his rickety old house as Covid-19 movement restrictions remain in place across most of the country.

The Melaka Zoo has been empty of human chatter for a long time since its closure due to Covid-19 restrictions, and the loss of income from ticket sales means it's a struggle to keep the animals healthy. That task now rests on the shoulders of these committed zoo workers, who feed, wash, and treat the adorable and the fierce alike every day.

These sets of pictures taken at seven major roads in Kuala Lumpur show life in the city before and after the movement control order was reinstated this week, bringing back memories of the first lockdown in March 2020.

Each year, monsoon rains pound the east coast forcing the evacuation of thousands as floods leave vehicles, roads and even houses underwater. But residents have described this year's flooding as the worst in half a century with tens of thousands evacuated in Pahang alone.

Churches, like most organisations, have gone online this year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the government's recent announcement that services will be allowed has seen some, like this small church in Ara Damansara, hurrying to get things ready by Christmas Day. (Note: masks were worn except for photo purposes.)

Not for the faint of heart: the Ropewerks team goes where no one else does to do the jobs no one else can, at dizzying heights where everything boils down to guts.

Like everyone else in the country, Rizam Zakariya became housebound when the Covid-19 lockdown was enforced earlier this year. But the time spent at home allowed him to rediscover his childhood hobby of rearing Siamese fighting fish, also known as betta fish.

G Bootheswaran works at a scrap company in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. This year marks his eighth Deepavali celebration away from his family in Chennai, India, as the Covid-19 pandemic increases his workload and keeps country borders closed.

With a pandemic wreaking havoc around the world, barely anyone is travelling anymore – but everyone still needs to eat. Mohd Saddam Irrban goes from tour agency operator to grocery delivery man for customers unwilling or unable to shop for themselves.