Three wishes for the 58th Malaysia Day on 16.9.2021

I have three wishes for the 58th Malaysia Day today on 16th September 2021.

Firstly, that when we celebrate our 59th Malaysia Day in 12 months’ time on 16th September 2022, there would be no doubt whatsoever that we have won the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

When we celebrated the 57th Malaysia Day on September 16, 2020, we had 10,031 Covid-19 cases and 128 Covid-19 deaths. In the last 12 months, these have increased to more than two million Covid-19 cases - and our daily new Covid-19 cases is more than the cumulative total of Covid-19 cases on the 57th Malaysia Day – and more than 22,000 Covid-19 deaths.

Last month in August alone, Covid-19 cases increased by 632,982 cases and Covid-19 deaths increased by 7,640 cases.

The change of Prime Minister from Muhyiddin Yassin to Ismail Sabri has not seen any decline in Covid-19 cases and Covid-19 deaths. In fact, the 16 days of September would see over 300,000 cases and 6,500 deaths!

By the 59th Malaysia Day on Sept. 16, 2022, we must reduce the daily new Covid-19 cases to double-digit figures and Covid-19 deaths to single-digit figures, and a fall-back of Malaysia’s ranking among nations in the world with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 figures from No. 21 to some 100th ranking.

This is not an impossible goal, considering that China, which has 44 times’ population of Malaysia, has fallen from the No. 1 position in the Covid-19 pandemic 21 months ago to the No. 109 ranking today.

My second wish is that the Cabinet would take a clear-cut position against the Attorney-General’s move on behalf of the Home Ministry to appeal the High Court decision granting automatic citizenship to foreign-born children of all Malaysian parents and to instruct the Attorney-General to withdraw the appeal.

A group of 13 MPs from the government and opposition have banded together to seek Prime Minister Ismail Sabri’s intervention over the matter.

Let the appeal of the 13 MPs be the voice of Parliament as it is high time that Malaysia catches with changing international trends on human rights or let the debate of thanks for the Royal Address become a parliamentary vote instructing the Attorney-General to withdraw the appeal.

My third wish is that the reference in the Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability signed between the Federal Government and the Pakatan Harapan political parties to the strengthening of efforts towards the implementation of MH63 would result in a position paper on the matter to be tabled in Parliament at the budget meeting next month.