Matters of concern that Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 death figures have yesterday risen to 65 deaths after two days of reduced numbers and the Brought-in-Dead (BID) Covid-19 deaths are again in double-digit figures

The 2022 Budget presented by the Finance Minster, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Aziz to Parliament on Friday was one major exercise of denial syndrome where the Ismail Sabri government refused to face up to the fact that until the confidence-supply-reform (CSR) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the Prime Minister and the four Pakatan Harapan leaders on Sept. 13, 2021, Malaysia had lost the war against the Covid-19 pandemic, especially from the declaration of Emergency on January 11, 2021.

When the 2021 Budget was presented by Tengku Zafrul in the Muhyiddin Government on Nov. 6, 2020, there were cumulative totals of 38,189 Covid-19 cases and 279 Covid-19 deaths.

When the Confidence-Supply-Reform (CSR) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and the Pakatan Harapan leaders, Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng, Mohamad Sabu and Wilfred Madius Tangau on Sept. 13, 2021, there were cumulative totals of 1,995,771 Covid-19 cases and 21,124 Covid-19 deaths.

As of yesterday (Nov. 1) , the cumulative totals increased to 2,476,268 Covid-19 cases and 28,975 Covid-19 deaths.

This means that from the presentation of the 2021 Budget on Nov. 6, 2020 to the signing of the CSR MOU on Sept. 13, 2021, there was a 52 times’ increase of the Covid-19 cases and an increase of 76 times the Covid-19 deaths.

But during the 50 days between the signing of the CSR MOU on Sept. 13, 2021 and Nov.1. 2021 there was an increase of 19.4% in the cumulative total of Covid-19 cases and an increase of 27% in the cumulative total of Covid-19 deaths.

This was the very intention of the CSR MOU – to stop the dizzy surge of Covid-19 cases and deaths destroying lives and livelihoods in Malaysia.

But will the reduction of the daily new Covid-19 cases and daily Covid-19 deaths hold?

It is matters of concern that the reduction of daily new Covid-19 cases and Covid-19 deaths were too slow as compared to other ASEAN countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, let alone other Asian nations like India and China.

Yesterday Malaysia recorded 4,626 daily new Covid-19 cases and 63 Covid-19 deaths, which is far cry from Indonesia’s 402 daily new Covid-19 cases and 18 Covid-19 deaths (18 consecutive days in triple-digit figures for daily new cases and 32 consecutive days in double-digit for daily Covid-19 deaths).

The slow rate of reduction to triple and then double-digit figures for daily new Covid-19 cases and single-digit for daily Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia is worrisome.

Although Malaysia reached a new low of 133 days when it recorded 4,626 daily new Covid-19 cases yesterday, the daily Covid-19 death numbers have gone up to 63 deaths after falling to 36 and 44 deaths the previous two days – with the BID Covid-19 deaths returning to double-digit figure of 18 deaths.

It has been reported that most of the fatality figures were backlog figures sometimes more than a week old.

Malaysians are still waiting for the Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin to come clean on the high Covid-19 fatality rates in Malaysia.