Call on Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, to unite to win the war against Covid-19 pandemic as we cannot afford another 12 months which had seen Covid-19 cases gallop 187 times from 9,340 to 1.75 million cases and Covid-19 deaths increase by 130 times from 127 to 16,500 deaths

On the 63rd National Day 12 months ago, we had a cumulative total of 9,340 Covid-19 cases and 127 Covid-19 deaths.

By tomorrow’s 64th National Day, we will have close to 1.75 million Covid-19 cases and 16,500 Covid-19 deaths – a phenomenal increase of 187 times for Covid-19 cases and another phenomenal increase of 130 times for Covid-19 deaths.

We already have one of the longest Covid-19 waves in the world, lasting one whole year since the Sabah state general election last September.

We beat all ASEAN and Asian nations in the “new cases per million population” on August 28, 2021 on the “Our World In Data” website, ten times the world average of 68.39 as Malaysia’s score is 689.43.

Can the new Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, turn the tide of defeat to victory in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic?

On the occasion of the 64th National Day, I call on all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics to unite to win the invisible war against the Covid-19 pandemic, as we cannot afford another 12 months of the phenomenal upsurge of Covid-19 cases and Covid-19 deaths.

At the pace of 187 times’ increase of Covid-19 cases and 130 times’ increase of Covid-19 deaths in the last 12 months, by the 65th National Day of August 31, 2022, we will have 327 million Covid-19 cases and 2.2 million Covid-19 deaths.

We would have overshadowed the United States, the present world’s top country world with about 40 million Covid-19 cases and 655,000 Covid-19 deaths.

But 327 million Covid-19 cases in Malaysia is an impossibility as it is 10 times Malaysia’s present population of 32 million – but it presents a grim picture of the magnitude of the disastrous trajectory of the mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia in the last 12 months – especially the image of one Covid-19 death out of every 16 people in Malaysia.

This is why three months ago, on May 22, 2021, I called on all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics, to unite to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic in Parliament and the State Assemblies with five objectives: (i) national mobilisation (ii) restore public trust and confidence; (iii) a new economic stimulus package to help the poor and vulnerable; (iv) effective mass testing; and (v) accelerate national vaccination rollout.

I also suggested that in the face of the existential threat of the Covid-19 pandemic, there be no “no-confidence” motion in Parliament and the State Assemblies and that the terms of Parliament and the State Assemblies should run till May 2023 unless the Covid-19 pandemic is sooner brought under control.

Tomorrow is the bleakest and grimmest National Day in the nation’s 64-year history.

But Malaysians must demonstrate the resilience and gumption to spring back to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic so as to be able to embark on economic and national recovery although Malaysia has just fallen to the bottom of the Bloomberg’s monthly Covid Resilience Ranking of 53 economies of more than US$200 billion.

I have a Malaysian Dream for Malaysia to become a world-class great nation which could leverage on the best values and virtues of the four great civilisations in the world – Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western – which meet in confluence in Malaysia.

But unless the existential threat of the Covid-19 pandemic is overcome, the Malaysian Dream will have to wait.