Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, 4th July , 2021
Call on Malaysians to unite to ensure that Malaysia will not exceed over one million Covid-19 cases and 10,000 Covid-19 deaths when we celebrate our 64th National Day on August 31 and exceed 1.2 million cases and 11,000 deaths on 58th Malaysia Day on Sept. 16
Among the many failings of the Muhyiddin government is its distorted sense of national priorities and a shocking lack of a sense of urgency.
This is why it could waste more than two weeks to decide whether to have a full-blown constitutional crisis not only against the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Rulers, but the people of Malaysia after its dismal failure to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.
This is why there is no emergency meeting of the Cabinet to convene Parliament before the emergency ends on August 1 as decreed by the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Rulers at the Conference of Rulers special meeting on June 16, 2021.
I hope it is not true that there are continued efforts to stonewall the convening of Parliament by not allowing the Emergency Proclamation and Ordinance and the Covid-19 National Recovery Plan (NRP) to be debated in Parliament before August 1.
This is why there is no sense of urgency although Malaysia now ranks No. 35 among nations in the world with the most cumulative total of over three-quarter of a million cases – a jump of 50 rankings in less than eight months which is a ‘feat’ unequalled by another nation in the world – and over 5,000 deaths.
At the rate of Covid-19 infection and fatality in the first three days of July, we are likely to exceed over one million Covid-19 cases and 10,000 deaths when we mark our 64th National Day on August 31 and exceed 1.2 million cases and 11,000 deaths on our 58th Malaysia Day anniversary on Sept. 16, 2021.
In these circumstances, what is there to celebrate on the 64th anniversary of National Day and the 58th anniversary of the Malaysia Day?
We have recently been catapulted to be one of the world’s worst performing nations in the Covid-19 pandemic, beating the previous worst performing nations in “daily deaths per million population” like the following statistics for July 2, 2021 from Our World in Data – United States (0.76), India (0.68), France (0.41), Turkey (0.60), UK (0.26), Italy (0.47), Spain (0.40), Germany (0.48) and Iran (1.58) as compared to 2.31 for Malaysia.
At present, there are four countries with over 800,000 Covid-19 cases and two countries with over 900,000 cases.
If the present rate of Covid-19 infection in Malaysia is not checked, we will join the “million club of nations” with over one million Covid-19 cases to mark our 64th National Day on August 31, 2021.
Do we want to overtake these six countries and be ranked No. 29 in the world in terms of cumulative total of Covid-19 cases?
These countries are:
29. Pakistan – 961,085 Covid-19 cases
30. Romania – 936,256
31. Portugal – 842,648
32. Israel – 842,648
33. Hungary – 808,197
34. Japan – 803, 492
35. Malaysia – 772,607
It has been said that Malaysians must choose whether they want to become cow herders or pig herders.
Malaysians do not want to be cow herders or pig herders but want to be a great nation on the cutting edge of technology, leveraging on the best values from the four great civilisations which meet in confluence in Malaysia – to build an united, plural and world top class nation.
It is a great fallacy that the political choice before Malaysians is whether to be cow herders or pig herders.
But increasingly, we are showing the marks of a failed state and the latest indicators are:
- The immediate failure of Malaysia’s Covid-19 Exit Pan, the National Recovery Plan (NRP), with Malaysia unable to exit with rising Covid-19 infections and deaths. Covid-19 cases are projected to remain in the 6,000 cases zone in the first half of July when Malaysia should have made the transition from Phase One to Phase Two of the NRP by achieving the threshold of less than 4,000 cases at the end of June;
- Malaysia falling 35 places from 16th rank in January 2021 to a catastrophic 51st position in the June 2021 Bloomberg Covid Resilience Ranking out of 53 economies of more than US$200 billion;
- Malaysia ranked last in an index of 50 nations by The Economist to measure how well countries are doing in returning to normalcy in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Something is very wrong with Malaysia’s war against Covid-19 pandemic when there are 2,374 fatalities in June in Malaysia, as compared to 358 fatalities (or 15% of the 2,375 fatalities in Malaysia) in the United Kingdom for June.
This is why there must be immediate convening of Parliament on the worsening Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia “as soon as possible”.
We are talking in terms of days and not weeks in the convening of Parliament, which is both testified and justified by the “prairie fire” effect of the “White Flag” phenomenon.
Malaysians should unite to ensure that we do not exceed over one million Covid-19 cases and 10,000 Covid-19 deaths when we mark our 64th National Day on August 31 and exceed 1.2 million cases and 11,000 deaths on the 58th Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, 2021.
But will the Muhyiddin government unite with Malaysians for this goal?
