#kerajaangagal162 – Malaysia needs a “War against Covid-19 Pandemic” coalition government whose sole task is to win the war against Covid -19
Yesterday’s Covid-19 statistics is proof that despite Malaysia fighting a losing war against the Covid-19 pandemic - as evident from the triple failures of the emergency, the twice-extended “total lockdowns” and the National Recovery Plan - there are no signs that we are turning the tides of defeat in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the first seven days of July, Malaysia registered a rolling daily average of 6,830 Covid-19 new cases, when we should be reaching the threshold of less than 4,000 cases on June 28, and the question in many minds is when the “total lockdown” will be lifted as it has proved to be a total failure.
Covid-19 has claimed 47,811 cases and 598 fatalities in the first seven days of July.
Before the emergency was declared on January 11, 2021, Malaysia had a cumulative total of 135,992 Covid-19 cases and 551 Covid-19 deaths.
Now Malaysia has a cumulative total of 799,790 Covid-19 cases and 5,768 Covid-19 deaths – which means that there had been 663,798 Covid-19 cases and 5,219 Covid-19 deaths during the six-month emergency.
This must be most failed emergency in the world, which in six months increased by six times the cumulative total of Covid-19 cases in the previous 12 months; and in six months, increased by almost ten times the number of Covid-19 fatalities of the previous 12 months.
Covid-19 cases and deaths are surging in Malaysia, and unless checked, we will exceed a million cases and over 10,000 deaths when we celebrate the 64th anniversary of our National Day on August 31 and over 1.2 million Covid-19 cases and over 11,000 Covid-19 deaths on the 58th anniversary of Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, 2021.
The Covid-19 pandemic poses an existential threat not only to the lives of Malaysians, but also to the Malaysian economy and nation.
The Covid-19 situation has gone from bad to worse in the last five weeks of “total lockdown”. We must get out of the position of being among the world’s worst performing nations in the Covid-19 pandemic as other previous worst performing nations have turned the corner and are doing well in the war against Covid-19 pandemic, with the United States for instance drastically reducing its daily new Covid-19 cases and new Covid-19 deaths by some 98% and 99% respectively from their peaks in January.
The country needs a national coalition encompassing the Executive, Parliament and all sectors of Malaysian society for an “all-of-government” and “whole-of-society” strategy and approach to win the war against Covid-19 pandemic, with the evolution of the earlier war aim of zero tolerance for the coronavirus to co-existence with it.
The invisible but lethal war against Covid-19 pandemic is going to be long haul with experts forecasting that it would take another two or three years before we can return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
We must have a government mindful of the importance of a national coalition to win the war against the Covid-18 pandemic, for this must be the preponderant challenge for all Malaysians.
With the latest political development following the UMNO Supreme Council decision last night to withdraw support for the Perikatan Nasional government, a new political scenario has emerged in the country.
This is most unfortunate for all energies should be focussed on how to build a national coalition to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic instead of on waging political warfare.
Be that as it may, we are in a new political scenario where no one seems to be able to command a clear majority of support of Members of Parliament and this calls for an agile and creative solution based on a national coalition to win the war against Covid-19 pandemic.
This can take various combinations and permutations, including:
- Continuation of the present government but mindful of the need for an agreed consensus to form a national coalition encompassing the Executive, Parliament and the various sectors of Malaysian society to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
- A new government with the consensus for a national coalition encompassing the Executive, Parliament and the various sectors of Malaysian society to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
- A new government, with representatives from all parties represented in Parliament, with one overriding objective: to form a national coalition to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is the time for Malaysians, guided by the Malaysian Constitution and the five Rukun Negara principles of nation-building, to put on their thinking caps and come up with ideas as how Malaysians can win the war against Covid-19 pandemic, before more damage is done to the Malaysian economy and society, apart from more deaths and suicides as a result of the pandemic.