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10 Jan 2021

Pejabat Perdana Menteri
Putrajaya, Malaysia

YAB Perdana Menteri

Rujukan kami berkenaan dengan sidang akhbar harian MKN pada 8-1-2021 oleh YB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Bin Yaakob tentang perutusan khas YAB PM pada hari Isnin 11-1-2020 berkaitan tindakan kerajaan di dalam usaha mengawal penyakit COVID (C19)

Izinkan kami membawa suara rakyat menzahirkan keresahan rakyat jelata dan cadangan yang telah kami kumpulkan di sini untuk perhatian YAB Tan Sri bagi pertimbangan kerajaan.

1. Kemampuan KKM Menangani Masalah C19.

Hebahan harian KKM menggambarkan strategi peperangan menentang C19 dipikul sepenuhnya oleh KKM dan ianya hampir gagal. Adalah dilapurkan sistem Kesihatan negara hampir lumpuh. Hakikatnya bahawa kelumpuhan ini disebabkan oleh strategi yang lemah, kurang dinamik dan lebih bersifat tindakbalas lantunan ke atas masalah yang berbangkit.

Peperangan ini memerlukan penglibatan semua rakyat, pelbagai agensi kerajaan, semua kerajaan negeri dan parti politik dalam negara. Oleh itu kami menyeru agar kerajaan mengambil sikap yang terbuka dan inklusif dan merangkumi kesemua pemegang taruh (stakeholders) di dalam negara tanpa mengira latar belakang politik serta pakar-pakar dalam bidang strategi dan sains. Rakyat boleh membantu jika kerajaan memaparkan lokasi tepat kes-kes aktif di laman sesawang di mana mereka boleh mengawal pergerakan mereka dengan sendiri.

Keupayaan sokongan kepada KKM perlu ditingkatkan bagi memastikan lebih banyak pusat isolasi dibuka supaya kegunaan hospital dioptimakan and pembelian peralatan dan ubatan khusus seperti ventilator perlu ditingkatkan. Pelan vaksinasi rakyat perlu diperincikan untuk mengurangkan kegusaran rakyat.

2. Kegusaran Ekonomi akibat Tindakan megembalikan PKP

Perlakasanan kembali PKP hanya akan membebankan rakyat. Kumpulan rakyat miskin makin nazak menjalani hidupan harian. Hakikatnya PKP bertujuan memperlahankan penyebaran penyakit dan meningkatkan keupayaan sistem kesihatan untuk melawan pesakit. Kami yakin, pihak KKM dan kerajaan mempunyai maklumat lengkap untuk menentukan apa yang perlu dibuat di dalam meningkatkan keupayaan perawatan. Oleh itu apa yang perlu dilakukan ialah hanya untuk memperlahankan penyebaran penyakit.

Ini bermakna PKP tidak diperlukan dan kawalan pergerakan rakyat akan lebih efektif jika semua pihak dapat melihat kedudukan kes aktif yang dipaparkan di atas peta di laman sesawang. Dengan adanya maklumat terbuka seperti ini semua agensi kerajaan dan NGO dapat memainkan peranan yang lebih efektif. Satu strategi yang lebih inklusif dapat dirangka oleh semua pihak dan mengawal penyebaran dalam kawasan kecil tanpa keperluan melakukan PKP yang meluas.

Tindakan pada masa ini mestilah mengimbangi kesan ekonomi ke atas negara, kesengaraan rakyat dan juga kesesakan di sistem kesihatan kerajaan. Kajian pakar dari Hospital Sungai Buloh (A NATIONWIDE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY by Benedict Lim Heng Sim et al) melapurkan bahawa sehingga 92% pesakit Covid-19 mengalami gejala yang ringan (yang tidak perlu dimasukkan ke hospital) dan paparan statistic harian KKM pada 8-1-2021 menunjukkan yang kadar kematian hanyalah 0.4% (http://covid-19.moh.gov.my/terkini) dari jumlah yang dijangkiti. Jelas sekali di sini, walaupun data kematian terperinci tidak dihebahkan oleh kerajaan, bantuan harus disasarkan di peringkat rawatan untuk menurunkan kadar kematian. Keperluan bantuan peralatan, ubatan dan pakar-pakar tambahan dari sektor swasta dan dari luar negara perlu dikaji. Kesimpulan di sini jelas bahawa PKP tidak perlu dilakukan dan jika dibuatkan ianya akan membawa musibah yang lebih berat kepada rakyat dan negara.

3. Kegusaran ibu bapa berkaitan persekolahan anak anak

Kita sedia maklum, penjadualan semula takwim persekolahan mempunyai kesan jangka panjang ke atas anak-anak yang bakal menjadi kumpulan pelapis negara. Penjadualan semula Peperiksaan Kebangsaan seperti SPM menyebabkan anak-anak kehilangan tumpuan dan stamina dan mempunyai impak ke atas pembelejaraan keperingkat berikutnya.

Kajian data kes Covd-19 menunjukkan penularan penyakit melibatkan sekolah hampir sifar. Pihak KKM boleh mengesahkan perkara ini. Oleh itu tidak ada justifikasi khusus untuk menutup sekolah di seluruh negara bagi mengawal sebaran penyakit. Paparan peta kes aktif penyakit di laman sesawang akan membolehkan ibu bapa dan pihak sekolah memainkan peranan di dalam pencegahan dan penyebaran penyakit. Apa yang perlu dibuat ialah meningkatkan langkah pencegahan dan melibatkan semua pihak di dalam kawalan penyakit secara inklusif.

Nyata sekali, jika kepadatan pelajar sekolah harus dikurangkan, ianya boleh dibuat melalui gandingan belajar di sekolah dan di atas talian bagi pelajar-pelajar yang tidak mengambil peperiksaan Kebangsaan. Bagi pelajar darjah 6 (UPSR), tingkatan 3 (PMR) dan tingkatan 5 (SPM), aktiviti persekolahan WAJIB diteruskan di sekolah dan pihak sekolah harus dibenarkan mengaturkan langkah kawalan penyakit yang dikeluarkan oleh KKM.

4. Kesan Ke atas Ekonomi Negara

Impak ke atas ekonomi negara dan penduduk dapat dirasakan hari ini. Kesan stimulasi kewangan tidak dapat dirasakan dan kesan kepada rakyat agak membimbangkan. Kami ingin mencadangkan agar kaedah stimulasi kerajaan dikaji semula dari segi penyampain. Jelas pemberian BSH tidak membantu rakyat dan kuasa pembelian.

Demi kejayaan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara berbilang kaum, kerjasama politik harus dilebarkan kepada semua pihak termasuk kepada Pakatan Harapan. Kerajaan perlu diaturkan semula dan meluputkan praktik politik yang sempit. Politik mestilah bersifat untuk rakyat dan bercorak lebih inklusif dan ianya boleh dilakukan jika ada pembukaan laluan dari YAB Tan Sri.

Bagi pihak rakyat,

Terima kasih

Lim Kit Siang, Ahli Parlimen Iskandar Puteri;
Dr. Mohamad Rafick Khan

(Kenyataan Media Bersama oleh Ahli Parlimen Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang dan Dr. Mohamad Rafick Khan pada Ahad, Jan 10, 2021)

Open Letter to the Prime Minister, YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

10 Jan 2021

Pejabat Perdana Menteri
Putrajaya, Malaysia

YAB Prime Minister,

We refer to the NSC daily press conference conducted by YB Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Bin Yaakob on 8-1-2021 regarding the special announcement by YAB PM that is scheduled for Monday, 11-1-2020 regarding government’s action in controlling the spread of Covid-19.

Allow us to bring the voice of the citizens, to express our worries and to put forward suggestions that we have collected for your attention to be considered by the government.

1. MOH ability to Handle Covid-19

The MOH’s daily announcement described the strategy in our war against C19 as being fully borne by the MOH and it almost failed. It is reported that the country’s health system is almost paralyzed. The fact is that this paralysis is caused by a weak strategy, less dynamic and more towards a reactive response to the problems that arise.

This war requires the involvement of all citizens, various government agencies, all state governments and political parties in the country. We therefore call on the government to take an open and inclusive attitude and include all stakeholders in the country regardless of political background as well as experts in the field of strategy and science. Citizens can help if the government displays the exact location of active cases on websites where they can control their movements on their own.

Supporting capacity to the MOH needs to be increased to ensure that more isolation centers are opened so that hospital use is optimized and the purchase of specialized equipment and medicines such as ventilators needs to be increased. The people’s vaccination plan needs to be detailed to reduce the people’s anxiety.

2. Economic Anxiety as a result of re-implementing MCO

The resumption of MCO will only burden the people. The poor are increasingly dying. The fact is that MCO aims to slow the spread of disease and increase the ability of the health system to fight disease. We are confident that the MOH and the government have complete information to determine what needs to be done in improving treatment capacity. So all that needs to be done is just to slow down the spread of the disease.

This means that MCO is not needed and movement control of the people will be more effective if all parties can see the position of active cases displayed on the map on the website. With open information like this all government agencies and NGOs can play a more effective role. A more inclusive strategy can be devised by all parties and controlling the spread in small areas without the need to do extensive MCO.

Action at this time must balance the economic impact on the country, the suffering of the people and also the congestion in the government health system. A specialist study from Sungai Buloh Hospital (A NATIONWIDE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY by Benedict Lim Heng Sim et al) reported that up to 92% of Covid-19 patients experience mild symptoms (which do not need to be hospitalized) and daily MOH statistics display at 8-1- 2021 shows that the death rate is only 0.4% (http://covid-19.moh.gov.my/terkini) of the total infected. Clearly here, although detailed death data is not publicized by the government, assistance should be targeted at the treatment stage to lower mortality rates. The need for additional equipment, medicines and specialists from the private sector and from abroad should be studied. The conclusion here is clear that MCO does not need to be done and if re-implemented, it will bring more serious misfortune to the people and the country.

3. Parents’ concerns related to their children’s schooling

As we all know, the rescheduling of the school calendar has a long-term effect on the children who will be the next generation of our country. The rescheduling of National Examinations such as SPM causes children to lose focus and stamina and have an impact on the next stage of learning.

A study of Covid-19 case data showed that disease transmission involving schools was almost zero. The MOH can confirm this matter. Therefore, there is no specific justification for closing schools nationwide to control the spread of disease. The display of active disease case maps on the website will allow parents and the school to play a role in the prevention and spread of the disease. What needs to be done is to increase preventive measures and involve all parties in disease control inclusively.

Obviously, if the density of school students should be reduced, it can be done through a combination of study at school and online for students who do not take the National examination. For grade 6 (UPSR), form 3 (PMR) and form 5 (SPM) students, school activities MUST be continued in the school and the school should be allowed to arrange disease control measures as issued by the MOH.

4. Impact on the National Economy

The impact on the country’s economy and population can be felt today. The effects of financial stimulus are unpredictable and the impact on the people is quite alarming. We would like to suggest that the government stimulus method be reviewed in terms of deliveries. Clearly giving BSH does not help the people and purchasing power.

For the success of Malaysia as a multi-racial country, political cooperation should be extended to all parties, including Pakatan Harapan. Government needs to be restructured and eschew narrow political practices. Politics must be for the people and more inclusive and it can be done if there is an opening of the path from YAB Tan Sri.

On behalf of the people,

Thank you

Lim Kit Siang, Member of Parliament for Iskandar Puteri

Dr. Mohamad Rafick Khan

(Joint Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang and Dr Mohamad Rafick Khan on Sunday, January 10, 2021)