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Malaysia must stop setting dubious new records in the Covid-19 pandemic if we are to return to normality and start on economic and national recovery.

Yesterday we set three dubious new records in Covid-19 pandemic when we firstly, set new peaks for daily new Covid-19 cases (24,599 cases) and daily Covid-19 deaths (393 deaths of which 100 were BID – brought-in-dead) and secondly, Malaysia overtook Chile in having more cumulative total of Covid-19 cases and is now ranked No. 24 among nations with most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

Tomorrow, we are likely to overtake another country, the Czech Republic, to be ranked No. 23 among nations with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

For the third consecutive day, we have beaten both Indonesia (16,899 cases) and Philippines (16,313 cases) in daily new Covid-19 cases.

Malaysians are numbed by the ceaseless increases of Covid-19 cases and deaths – a disturbing sign of Covid-19 fatigue among the people.

The prediction of the Health Director-General, Noor Hisham Abdullah at the end of last month that Malaysia will reach the peak of Covid-19 transmissions in mid-September with 24,000 cases a day has come one month earlier in August, but this does not appear to be the peak for daily new Covid-19 cases.

What will the peak of daily new Covid-19 cases in current surge of Covid-19 cases?

Although Selangor’s Covid-19 infections fallen below seven thousand figures, there are eight states which have daily new four-digit cases, namely Selangor (6,936), Sabah (3,487), Johor (2,785), Penang (2,078), Sarawak (2,024), Kedah (1,538), Kelantan (1,312) and Perak (1,170), with Sabah, Johore and Penang reaching record-nigh figures yesterday.

As Johore has become the third state with the highest daily new Covid-19 cases, it is urgent and imperative that walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centres for the elderly, individuals with disabilities, people with comorbidities, teachers and those who missed their second dose should be started immediately in Johore like other states like Perak, Kedah, Penang, Sabah, Melaka, Kelantan and Sarawak.

In fact, this was announced by the then National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on August 2 but it had not been implemented.

I agree with the DAP MP for Kulai, Teoh Nie Ching, that this is a matter which required instant action and which cannot wait until the new Cabinet is sworn in next Monday.

In the ten days between the appointment of Ismail Sabri as the ninth Prime Minister on August 20 and the swearing-in of the new Cabinet on Monday, 30th August 2021, we are likely to have over 200,000 new Covid-19 cases and over 2,000 Covid-19 deaths, when it had taken a year to reach the first 200,000 Covid-19 cases and 17 months to reach the first 2,000 Covid-19 deaths.

This is why reducing the Covid-19 cases to first triple-digit and then double-digit figures and reduce the Covid-19 deaths to first double-digit and then single-digit figures is of the most paramount and critical importance, and all Malaysians, irrespective to race, religion, region or politics must be united on this national endeavour.

This is why I support in principle Pakatan Harapan and the Opposition reaching a Confidence-Supply-Reform Agreement (CSRA) with the Government so that we put politics aside for 12-18 months and all Malaysians focus on winning the war against the Covid-19 pandemic, return the country to normality and embark on economic and national recovery.

But the CSRA should be a meaningful agreement and not a hollow document.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, August 27, 2021)

Malaysia perlu berhenti mencatatkan rekod baharu pandemik Covid-19 jika kita mahu kembali kepada kehidupan normal dan memulakan pemulihan negara dan ekonomi

Malaysia perlu berhenti mencatatkan rekod baharu pandemik Covid-19 jika kita mahu kembali kepada kehidupan normal dan memulakan pemulihan negara dan ekonomi.

Semalam kita mencipta tiga rekod baharu pandemik Covid-19; pertama, merekodkan kemuncak baharu untuk kes baharu Covid-19 (24,599 kes) dan kes kematian harian (393 kematian yang mana 100 daripadanya adalah kematian membabitkan BID – kematian di luar hospital) dan kedua, Malaysia memintas Chile dalam jumlah keseluruhan kes Covid-19 dan kini berada di kedudukan ke-24 antara negara-negara dengan jumlah keseluruhan kes Covid-19 tertinggi.

Esok, kita berkemungkinan memintas Republik Czech untuk berada di kedudukan ke-23 antara negara-negara dengan jumlah keseluruhan kes Covid-19 tertinggi.

Untuk hari ketiga berturut-turut, kita telah menewaskan Indonesia (16,899 kes) dan Filipina (16,313 kes) dalam kes harian baharu Covid-19.

Rakyat Malaysia semakin penat dengan lonjakan berterusan kes positif Covid-19 dan kematian akibat wabak itu.

Ramalan Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah pada akhir bulan lalu bahawa Malaysia akan mencapai tahap kemuncak penularan Covid-19 pada pertengahan September dengan 24,000 kes sehari menjadi kenyataan sebulan lebih awal pada Ogos, namun ia nampaknya bukanlah tahap kemuncak sebenar untuk kes harian baharu Covid-19.

Apakah tahap kemuncak sebenar kes harian baharu Covid-19 berdasarkan lonjakan kes Covid-19 yang terkini?

Meskipun jangkitan Covid-19 di Selangor telah menurun ke paras bawah 7,000, terdapat enam negeri yang merekodkan kes empat angka, antaranya Selangor (6,936), Sabah (3,487), Johor (2,785), Pulau Pinang (2,078), Sarawak (2,024), Kedah (1,538), Kelantan (1,312) dan Perak (1,170), dengan Sabah, Johor dan Pulau Pinang merekodkan angka yang begitu tinggi semalam.

Oleh kerana Johor kini menjadi negari ketiga dengan kes harian baharu Covid-19 tertinggi, maka sewajarnya disediakan dengan segera pusat vaksinasi secara walk-in untuk orang dewasa, individu kurang upaya, individu menghidapi komorbiditi, guru-guru dan mereka yang terlepas dos kedua, seperti mana negeri-negeri lain di Perak, Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Sabah, Melaka, Kelantan dan Sarawak.

Malah, perkara ini sebenarnya telah diumumkan oleh Menteri Koordinasi Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan (PICK), Khairy Jamaluddin pada 2 Ogos namun sehingga kini tidak dilaksanakan.

Saya bersetuju dengan Ahli Parlimen DAP Kulai, Teo Nie Ching, bahawa perkara ini memerlukan tindakan pantas dan tidak boleh ditangguh sehingga Kabinet baharu mengangkat sumpah pada Isnin depan.

Dalam tempoh 10 hari antara pelantikan Ismail Sabri sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang ke-9 pada 20 Ogos dan majlis angkat sumpah Kabinet baharu pada Isnin, 30 Ogos 2021, kita berkemungkinan mengumpulkan lebih 200,00 kes Covid-19 baharu dan lebih 2,000 kematian akibat wabak itu, sedangkan kita mengambil masa selama setahun untuk mencapai 200,000 kes Covid-19 pertama dan 17 bulan untuk mencapai 2,000 kes kematian pertama.

Mengurangkan kes Covid-19 kepada angka tiga digit pertama dan kemudian angka dua digit dan mengurangkan kematian akibat Covid-19 kepada angka dua digit pertama dan kemudian kepada satu angka adalah paling penting dan mustahak dan semua rakyat Malaysia, tanpa mengira bangsa, agama, wilayah atau politik mesti bersatu dalam usaha nasional ini.

Inilah sebabnya mengapa saya menyokong pada dasarnya Pakatan Harapan dan pembangkang mencapai perjanjian kepercayaan-perbekalan-reformasi (CSRA) dengan kerajaan supaya kita mengetepikan politik selama 12-18 bulan dan semua rakyat Malaysia memberi tumpuan untuk memenangi perang melawan pandemik Covid-19, kembalikan negara kepada kehidupan sedia kala dan mulakan pemulihan negara dan ekonomi.

Namun, CSRA tersebut mestilah menjadi suatu perjanjian yang bermakna dan bukan dokumen kosong.

(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Jumaat, 27 Ogos 2021)