Najib queries Shafie’s silence on Sabah Covid spike 

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak has questioned Warisan President Shafie Apdal over his silence on the Covid-19 outbreak in Sabah since the state election.

Najib said Warisan leaders seemed to have kept quiet about the pandemic since the spike in cases after the election, adding that party leader Mohamaddin Ketapi had even deactivated his Facebook account.

He said Shafie, the Semporna MP, only had four posts on Facebook since the polls, all of which did not touch on the pandemic.

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Following reports that frontliners faced problems treating villagers in rural areas, he said elected representatives can help address this by informing community leaders and villagers about the Covid-19 situation.

Shafie

 “It cannot be denied that they (Warisan) are community leaders in four districts (Lahad Datu, Semporna, Tawau and Kunak).

“I hope these leaders can work with the government to help educate the local residents so as to curb the spread of Covid-19 there.

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“Don’t just keep quiet while collecting your salaries as MPs and assemblymen,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday.

Health Director-General Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah previously said a lack of awareness of the virus in rural areas made it difficult for frontliners to treat patients further inland in Sabah. 

He said the level of understanding of the pandemic was lower compared with people in the peninsula, with some refusing to be admitted and others even fleeing when they see frontliners approaching. Tawau has recorded the most Covid-19 cases in Sabah, with 1,913 reported infections, while Semporna is third-highest with 1,539. Lahad Datu is third-highest with 999 cases in total while Kunak has 264.