Malaysians must now keep their eyes on the twin disasters in Malaysia – the two-year Covid-19 pandemic and the floods disaster in Selangor and Pahang, which have claimed 27 lives so far, the highest death toll since the last major floods in 2014.
On the Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed 31,221 lives and exceeded cumulative total of 2.7 million Covid-19 cases, we have missed the boat and will not be able to achieve pre-Emergency situation this year, let alone end the longest Covid-19 wave in the world going back September last year.
Yesterday’s record of 3,519 daily new Covid-19 cases and 29 daily Covid-19 deaths signified that we are not going to return before the end of this year to the pre-Emergency period when there were 2,232 daily new Covid-19 cases and four daily Covid-19 deaths on January 11, 2021 when Emergency was declared to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
This has been quite an emergency – with ever-higher increase of Covid-19 cases and deaths with the passage of the Emergency and Malaysia losing out to countries which have not declared any emergency to fight Covid-19 pandemic.
The daily increase of 2,589 new Covid-19 cases on 20th December – lowest in more than seven months – had given hope that there was a possibility of returning to the pre-Emergency level Covid-19 cases in January this year if not to end the third Covid-19 wave in the country going back to September last year, but the new Covid-19 cases in the last two days – 3,140 cases on 21st December and 3,519 cases on 22nd December – were indications that the last week of 2021 will be spent struggling to fall below the 3,000-cases level.
This is tragic and shameful, when other nations, particularly in ASEAN, are doing better in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic – with Indonesia yesterday reporting 179 new cases and 10 Covid-19 deaths, Philippines 261 new cases and 122 deaths, Thailand 2,532 cases and 31 deaths and Singapore 335 new cases and one death.
Indonesia has in fact been having triple-digit daily increase of new Covid-19 cases for more than two months since Oct. 15 and achieved single-digit Covid-19 deaths for 10 days in December.
Even India has fallen from its peak of 414,433 new Covid-19 cases on May 6 to 4,824 new cases yesterday, which is faster than Malaysia which fell from our peak of 24,593 new cases on August 26 to 3,592 new cases yesterday.
Malaysia must live with Covid-19 but when will daily new Covid-19 cases in Malaysia fall to double-digit figures and Covid-19 deaths to single-digit figure?
Or is the Covid-19 statistics of 2,232 new cases a day, for which an Emergency was declared on January 11, 2021, to become the norm in Malaysia and the best that Prime Minister Ismail Sabri’s Cabinet – which got a score of 90 per cent for its first hundred-day performance – could do?
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Thursday, 23rd December 2021)
Kita sudah terlepas peluang dan tidak akan dapat kembali ke situasi Covid-19 seperti sebelum darurat dalam tahun ini, apatah lagi untuk menamatkan gelombang Covid-19 terpanjang di dunia yang melanda negara sejak September tahun lalu
Rakyat Malaysia kini perlu berwaspada dengan bencana berkembar di Malaysia – pandemik Covid-19 selama dua tahun dan bencana banjir di Selangor dan Pahang, yang telah meragut 27 nyawa setakat ini, angka kematian tertinggi sejak banjir besar melanda negara pada 2014.
Dari segi situasi pandemik Covid-19, yang telah meragut 31,221 nyawa dan melebihi jumlah kumulatif 2.7 juta kes Covid-19, kita telah ketinggalan jauh dan tidak akan dapat kembali ke situasi pandemik Covid-19 sebelum darurat, apatah lagi menamatkan gelombang Covid-19 terpanjang di dunia sejak September tahun lalu.
Semalam sebanyak 3,519 kes harian baharu Covid-19 direkodkan dengan 29 korban, sekaligus menandakan yang kita tidak akan kembali ke situasi pandemik Covid-19 seperti mana sebelum darurat diisytiharkan apabila terdapat 2,232 kes harian baharu Covid-19 dan empat korban semasa darurat diisytiharkan untuk memerangi pandemik Covid-19.
Situasi ini agak bahaya memandangkan peningkatan kes dan korban Covid-19 yang semakin tinggi meskipun darurat diisytiharkan di negara ini dan Malaysia tewas kepada negara yang tidak mengisytiharkan sebarang darurat untuk memerangi pandemik wabak itu.
Kes baharu Covid-19 sebanyak 2,589 yang direkodkan pada 20 Disember – terendah dalam tempoh lebih tujuh bulan – memberi harapan bahawa terdapat kemungkinan untuk kembali ke tahap sebelum darurat diisytiharkan pada Januari tahun ini jika sekalipun tidak menamatkan gelombang ketiga Covid-19 di negara ini yang bermula pada September tahun lepas, tetapi kes baharu Covid-19 dalam dua hari terakhir – 3,140 kes pada 21 Disember dan 3,519 kes pada 22 Disember – adalah petunjuk bahawa minggu terakhir 2021 akan menunjukkan bahawa kita masih bergelut untuk menurunkan angka kes di bawah paras 3,000.
Situasi ini amat tragis dan memalukan, apabila negara lain, khususnya di ASEAN, melakukan yang lebih baik dalam memerangi pandemik Covid-19 – dengan Indonesia semalam melaporkan 179 kes baharu dan 10 korban, Filipina 261 kes baharu dan 122 korban, Thailand 2,532 kes dan 31 korban dan Singapura 335 kes baharu dan satu korban.
Indonesia sebenarnya telah mengalami peningkatan dalam lingkungan julat tiga angka bagi kes baharu Covid-19 selama lebih daripada dua bulan sejak 15 Oktober dan mencapai angkat korban Covid-19 dalam lingkungan julat satu angka selama 10 hari pada bulan Disember.
Malah India juga telah menunjukkan penurunan dari puncak 414,433 kes baharu Covid-19 pada 6 Mei kepada 4,824 kes baharu semalam, iaitu lebih pantas berbanding Malaysia yang turun daripada puncak 24,593 kes baharu pada 26 Ogos kepada 3,592 kes baharu semalam.
Benar, Malaysia perlu hidup di samping Covid-19, tetapi bilakah kes harian baharu Covid-19 di Malaysia akan turun ke julat dua angka dan korban akibat Covid-19 turun ke dalam lingkungan julat satu angka?
Atau adakah statistik Covid-19 sebanyak 2,232 kes baharu sehari, semasa darurat diisytiharkan pada 11 Januari 2021, menjadi kebiasaan di Malaysia dan perkara yang paling termampu dilakukan Kabinet Perdana Menteri Ismail Sabri yang mendapat markah 90 peratus untuk prestasi seratus hari pertama mereka?
(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Gelang Patah pada hari Khamis, 23 Disember 2021)