#kerajaangagal134 – Malaysia needs a “Win the War Against Covid-19 Pandemic” (WACOP) coalition government to save the country from the devastation in lives, economic losses and societal damages of the pandemic

Malaysia needs a “Win the War Against Covid-19 Pandemic” (WACOP) coalition government to save the country from the devastation in lives, economic losses and societal damages of the pandemic.

Today, Malaysia has plumbed a new depth in the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With 4,637 Covid-19 deaths, we have beaten China, the former No. 1 nation in total cumulative total of Covid-19 cases, as it has 4,636 Covid-19 deaths.

We have also beaten China in total cumulative total of Covid-19 cases, as China now ranked No. 100 with 91,653 Covid-19 cases while Malaysia, with 711,006 Covid-19 cases is now ranked No. 37 – as compared to being ranked No. 85 seven months ago.

It is to be noted that China has a population of 1.4 billion people, some 44 times Malaysia’s population of 32 million but Malaysia has about eight times the Covid-19 caseload than China.

Today, our pandemic situation is going to be worsen when we overtake (worst-case scenario is we will overtake tomorrow) Serbia to become No,. 36 in the world among nations in the world with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

The question is whether we will overtake Jordan to be ranked No. 35 among nations with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases – whether by June 30 or the first week of July!

Is this what the Prime Minister’s Covid-19 National Recovery Plan all about?

Muhyiddin said on July 15 in a live national telecast about four phases in the National Recovery Plan – to transition from Phase One to Phase Two provided three conditions are met: record an average of below 4,000 Covid-19 cases, ICU capacity easing to moderate levels and 10 per cent of the population being fully vaccinated.

It would appear that none of the three conditions will be met by the end of the month, viz:

  • Firstly, we will not record an average of below 4,000 Covid-19 cases, when we have not once touched below 4,000 cases in the month of June, ranging from 4,611 cases on 21st June to 8,209 cases on 3rd June.
  • In fact the total of the Covid-19 cases in 23 days in June i.e. 138,649 cases will already exceed above 4,000 cases if divided by 30 days i.e. 4,621.

  • Secondly, there has been no easing of the ICU capacity and no signs that ICU bed utilisation is below 75%.
  • Two days ago, the DAP Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah urged Health Minister Dr Adham Baba to explain the situation at Serdang Hospital after its ambulance service refused to transport a Covid-19 patient suffering breathing difficulties.

    Moreover, after volunteers brought a Covid-19 patient to the hospital yesterday, he claimed that the staff there told them not to bring any more patients because there were not enough beds at the hospital.

    On June 8, the Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the usage of Covid-19 beds in ICU has increased to 104 per cent on June 6. This is up from 96 per cent that was recorded on May 25.

    The health director general said the fact that the rate of occupied Covid-19 ICU beds has breached 100 per cent was very much alarming.

    “This basically means there is no space for patients who come in needing intensive care, these are critical cases,” he said.

    He had also tweeted about a long fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as it would take three to four month to flatten the curve.

  • Thirdly, the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has announced a half-month delay in Phase One as the country is estimated to fully vaccinate 10 per cent of the population in the country only by mid-July and not the end of June.

Yet we have the Prime Minister himself involved in flip-flops, U-turns and double standards which the Muyhiddin government had made so infamous during the Covid-19 pandemic.

What type of a Covid-19 National Recovery Plan has the Muhyiddin government drawn up when it could not withstand scrutiny after only a few days?

As a result, Muhyiddin made an open-ended statement yesterday and said that although the government had set certain targets like dates and periods, number of cases, vaccination milestones, and usage of ICU beds, the actual situation frequently changes.

It is strange that for a politician in a parliamentary democracy for over four decades, Muhyiddin has developed a complex best described as “Parliamentitis” in his fear and obsession about Parliament.

The Sultan of Johore spoke for all Malaysians when he expressed his sadness that the people are living in hardship, fear and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic and his disappointment that until today, the Covid-19 pandemic has yet to be resolved.

I call on Muhyiddin to overcome his “Parlimentitis” and convene Parliament before August 1 which is the clear wish of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and to fulfil the wishes of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on June 15 not to extend the Emergency on August 1.

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel on the political front?

Lim Kit Siang MP for Iskandar Puteri