(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

All Johore Members of Parliament and State Assembly persons should support the Johore Sultan’s call for a meeting of Johore lawmakers on Covid-19 pandemic in Johore and have the meeting before the end of the month.

The Johore Sultan is aware that the Johor legislative assembly cannot be convened, but a meeting can be held in other forms and chaired by the menteri besar.

He said: “Through this discussion, all MPs and state assemblypersons can air their views on ways to stop the spread of Covid-19 and solve problems faced by Bangsa Johor.”

I suggest that this meeting be opened by the Johore Sultan and that it be held by the end of this month, for the Covid-19 pandemic is deteriorating very rapidly, and if the Health Ministry’s revised modelling is right, then we will be seeing more than 8,000 daily increases of new Covid-19 cases by June.

For nine consecutive days, Malaysia’s daily increase of new Covid-19 cases has exceeded that of Indonesia, justifying the snide remark of the Indonesian authorities that Malaysia and India are nations which should not be emulated as they had mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic!

I said this morning that “Yesterday was the worst day for Malaysia in the 17-month Covid-19 pandemic”, with Malaysia’s daily increase of new Covid-19 cases breaking two barriers in one go, the 5,000-mark and the 6,000-mark, as well as establishing a new record for daily increase of new Covid-19 cases.

Today we broke yesterday’s record for daily increase of new Covid-19 cases, as well as crashed through the 2,000 mark for Covid-19 deaths as the total Covid-19 fatalities now stand at 2040 – a horrifying figure.

If the present Covid-19 situation continues, we will reach the half-million mark in cumulative total of Covid-19 cases on Saturday, May 22, 2021.

Malaysia is witnessing an unprecedented surge of Covid-19 cases. In contrast, in the United States, the worst nation in the world with the most Covid-19 cases and fatalities, there is a sharp drop in increase of new Covid-19 cases, from the peak of daily increase 304,190 new cases on January 8 to 28,435 cases yesterday – a humongous drop of 91%!

In fact, in the United States yesterday, Covid-19 cases were down in all 50 US states for the first time since the pandemic began, causing the senior White House Covid-19 adviser, Andy Slavitt to declare that America was “winning the war on the virus.”

Even India has fallen from the peak of 414,433 cases on May 6 to 276,261 today (May 20) – a sharp drop of 34% in a matter of a fortnight.

What is more unacceptable to Malaysians is that we are even losing out to UK, Italy and Spain, European countries which had been such catastrophes last year in the Covid-19 pandemic. Yesterday’s daily increase of new Covid-19 cases for UK were 2,696 cases, Italy 5,506 cases and Spain 6,080 cases as compared to Malaysia new Covid-19 cases of 6,806 cases.

Malaysia holds the dubious record of being ranked No. 42 among nations in the world with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases, but we hold the more dubious record of being ranked No. 12 among countries with the most daily increase of new Covid-19 cases – after India (276,261 new cases), Brazil (79,706), Argentina (39,651), USA (28,435), France (19,050), Colombia (16,579). Iran (12,789), Germany (11,881), Turkey (11.553), Nepal (8,604) and Russia (7,920).

At the present rate of daily increase of new Covid-19 cases, Malaysia will overtake Morocco and Lebanon to be ranked No. 40 in the world for cumulative total of
Covid-19 cases by the end of the month.

The de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan said in Kota Bharu today that the National Security Council (NSC) will meet in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow to decide whether to implement “total lockdown” to stem the spread of Covid-19.

The NSC had been most irresponsible to delay meeting until tomorrow as the deterioration of the Covid-19 situation had been developing for the past fortnight.

The NSC must accept that the declaration of emergency on January 12 had been a failure and the wrong antidote for the Covid-19 pandemic, and ideally, it should act on my two proposals for a new start in the war against Covid-19 pandemic, viz:

Firstly, convene Parliament and the State Assemblies to establish a parliamentary and State Assembly united front in the war against Covid-19 pandemic where there will be no “no-confidence” motion and to spearhead a “whole-of-society” national mobilisation of Malaysians to restore the country to normalcy; and

Secondly, to end all Covid-19 SOP flip-flops and double standards, including an end to all police investigations into the groups of youths who gathered in front of Parliament on April 30 protesting against the suspension of Parliament and the group of youths who held a protest in Parit Raja, Batu Pahat on May 12 and unfurled a large banner with the words “#kerajaangagal” as well as to end all repression and harassment of journalists, protest leaders and various other critics of the government.

This should be on the agenda of the NSC tomorrow.

At the minimum, the NSC should declare that it has no objection to the proposal of a meeting of all MPs and SAs in Johore as proposed by the Sultan of Johore on the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Johore Mentri Besar should spring into action to convene a meeting of all Johore MPs and SAs on the Covid-19 pandemic by the end of the month.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 20th May 2021)

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#kerajaangagal54 — Semua Ahli Parlimen dan Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Johor wajar menyokong titah Sultan Johor untuk mengadakan mesyuarat bagi membincangkan penularan wabak Covid-19 dan kesannya kepada penduduk negeri itu

Semua Ahli Parlimen dan Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Johor wajar menyokong titah Sultan Johor untuk mengadakan mesyuarat bagi membincangkan penularan wabak Covid-19 dan kesannya kepada penduduk negeri itu.

Sultan Johor sedar akan Ordinan Darurat yang sedang berkuat kuasa menghalang persidangan Parlimen dan DUN untuk dijalankan ketika ini, namun baginda berpandangan mesyuarat dapat dilaksanakan dalam bentuk lain dan dipengerusikan oleh menteri besar.

Titah baginda: “Melalui perbincangan ini, semua ahli Parlimen dan Adun boleh memberikan buah fikiran dan pandangan masing-masing dalam membendung penularan wabak Covid-19 dan menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi oleh Bangsa Johor.”

Saya mencadangkan agar mesyuarat ini dirasmikan oleh Sultan Johor dan diadakan pada akhir bulan ini, kerana pandemik Covid-19 merebak dengan pantas, dan jika ramalan Kementerian Kesihatan terbukti benar, maka kita akan menyaksikan peningkatan kes harian sebanyak 8,000 kes menjelang Julai.

Selama sembilan hari berturut-turut, angka kes harian baharu Covid-19 di Malaysia mengatasi Indonesia; sehinggakan Kerajaan Indonesia menggunakan negara kita bersama dengan India sebagai contoh negara yang gagal menguruskan wabak ini dengan baik.

Pagi ini, saya berkata bahawa ” semalam merupakan hari terburuk dalam 17 bulan pandemik Covid-19″, dengan peningkatan kes harian baharu Covid-19 di Malaysia semalam melintasi dua jumlah besar sekaligus, iaitu 5,000 dan 6,000 kes, mencipta rekod baharu bagi kes baharu Covid-19.

Hari ini kita memecahkan rekod semalam dengan 6,8006 kes baharu Covid-19 dengan angka kematian akibat wabak itu kini memecah 2,040 orang.

Sekiranya keadaan Covid-19 sekarang berterusan, kita akan mencapai angka setengah juta dalam jumlah keseluruhan kes Covid-19 pada Sabtu, 22 Mei 2021.

Malaysia menyaksikan lonjakan kes Covid-19 yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya. Sebaliknya, di Amerika Syarikat, negara terburuk di dunia dengan kes dan kematian akibat Covid-19 terbanyak, menyaksikan perubahan yang ketara, daripada 304,190 kes aktif pada 8 Januari kepada 28,435 kes aktif semalam – penurunan besar sebanyak 91%!

Semalam di Amerika Syarikat, kes Covid-19 mencatatkan penururan di semua 50 negeri di negara itu untuk pertama kalinya sejak wabak itu tercetus, menatijahkan kenyataan oleh penasihat kanan White House Covid-19, Andy Slavitt yang mengisytiharkan bahawa Amerika telah “memenangi perang terhadap virus tersebut.”

Bahkan India telah mencatatkan penurunan daripada 414,433 kes pada 6 Mei kepada 274,030 pada 19 Mei – penurunan mendadak sebanyak 34% dalam masa dua minggu.

Apa yang lebih mengecewakan rakyat Malaysia adalah hakikat bahawa kita telah tewas dengan England, Itali, Sepanyol serta negara-negara Eropah yang teruk dilanda wabak itu pada tahun lalu. Peningkatan kes harian baharu Covid-19 di UK semalam adalah 2,696 kes, Itali 5,506 kes dan Sepanyol 6,080 kes berbanding Malaysia 6,806 kes.

Malaysia berada di kedudukan ke-42 antara negara-negara di dunia dengan jumlah keseluruhan kes positif Covid-19 tertinggi, malah menjadi negara ke-12 di dunia dengan kenaikan kes harian Covid-19 tertinggi selepas India (276,261 kes baru), Brazil (79,706), Argentina (39,651), Amerika Syarikat (28,435), Perancis (19,050), Colombia (16,579). Iran (12,789), Jerman (11,881), Turki (11,553), Nepal (8,604) dan Rusia (7,920).

Pada kadar kenaikan kes harian baharu Covid-19 ini, Malaysia bakal mengatasi Maghribi dan Lubnan untuk berada di tangga ke-40 dunia dengan jumlah keseluruhan kes positif Covid-19 tertinggi.

Menteri Undang-undang Takiyuddin Hassan berkata di Kota Bahru bahawa Majlis Keselamatan Negara (MKN) akan bermesyuarat di Kuala Lumpur esok untuk memutuskan sama ada kerajaan akan melaksanakan “sekatan penuh (total lockdown)” untuk membendung penyebaran Covid-19.

MKN dilihat sangat tidak bertanggungjawab kerana menangguhkan mesyuarat sepenting itu sehingga esok kerana keadaan Covid-19 di negara ini semakin memburuk sejak dua minggu yang lalu.

MKN mesti menerima hakikat bahawa pengisytiharan darurat pada 12 Januari merupakan satu kegagalan dan bukan penawar yang dicari untuk menangani pandemik Covid-19. Kerajaan seharusnya mempertimbangkan cadangan saya iaitu untuk memulakan strategi baru bagi membendung pandemik Covid-19, umpanya:

Pertama, memanggil sidang Parlimen untuk membentuk barisan Parlimen yang bersatu dalam melawan wabak Covid-19 ini, di mana tidak ada sebarang “usul tidak percaya” untuk menggerakkan usaha mobilisasi kebangsaan yang melibatkan “keseluruhan masyarakat” untuk mengembalikan kehidupan normal dalam negara kita; dan

Kedua, menamatkan semua dasar flip-flop dan dwistandard dalam pelaksanaan SOP, termasuk menghentikan semua siasatan polis terhadap kumpulan anak muda yang berkumpul di hadapan Parlimen pada 30 April bagi memprotes penggantungan Parlimen dan kumpulan anak muda yang mengadakan tunjuk perasaan secara aman di Parit Raja, Batu Pahat pada 12 Mei dan mengangkat sepanduk besar dengan tulisan “#kerajaangagal”. Tamatkan juga semua penindasan dan gangguan terhadap wartawan, pemimpin protes dan pengkritik kerajaan.

Perkara-perkara ini harus menjadi agenda terpenting dalam mesyuarat MKN esok.

Sekurang-kurangnya, MKN harus menyatakan bahawa mereka tidak keberatan untuk menjunjung titah Sultan Johor agar mesyuarat melibatkan semua Ahli Parlimen dan Adun Johor bagi membincangkan masalah penularan Covid-19 di negeri itu dapat dilaksanakan.

Menteri Besar Johor harus mula bertindak untuk mengadakan mesyuarat tersebut pada akhir bulan ini.

(Kenyataan media (2) Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Khamis, 20 Mei 2021)