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MALAYSIANS are set to face a grim Chinese New Year with the extension of the second movement control order to February 18.
If the Health Ministry’s National Institute of Health’s revised pandemic projections are right, Malaysia will record 8,000 daily new Covid-19 cases by the first week of March and 10,000 daily new cases by the second week of March because of the high infectivity rate.
Malaysia's cumulative total of Covid-19 cases would have exceeded 400,000 cases by the second week of March and we would be vying for the position of being among the top 40 countries with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.
Malaysia would then have the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world to jump some 45 places, from being ranked at number 85 on November 18 among the countries with the highest cumulative total of Covid-19 cases to around number 40 and even less.
This is a most perverse interpretation of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s priority to “uphold the country’s sovereignty and strengthen Malaysia’s position on the world stage” in his 2021 new year’s message.
The greatest challenge today is to restore public confidence and trust in the national strategy and approach in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic, for it is in painful tatters as a result of double standards in observing the Covid-19 standard operating procedures, flouted by Perikatan Nasional ministers and VIPs with impunity, and the government's numerous flip-flops.
In this context, reports that five ministers and nine deputy ministers were conferred titles in conjunction with this year’s Federal Territory Day celebrations are sending the wrong signals to the public, as ministers, deputy ministers, and political leaders should be setting an example of public service before self to regain public confidence and trust in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ministers, deputy ministers, and political leaders must not act as if they are not aware that there is a critical crisis of confidence over the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the first shipment of the Covid-19 vaccine to arrive on February 26, this would mean that Malaysia’s nationwide Covid-19 vaccination programme will only be able to begin in March.
So far, more than 101 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been given out in 64 countries around the world.
As Malaysia will be far behind other countries in the vaccination programme, we must make sure that we are well-prepared to resolve the logistics and other problems so that we do not face any hitches in carrying out a successful national vaccination programme. – The Vibes, February 3, 2021
Lim Kit Siang is Iskandar Puteri MP
