'Respect the rakyat, tell us what you're doing': Wong Chen tells emergency panel

 

The Independent Special Committee on Emergency 2021 should be more transparent in carrying out its functions, even if it is not obligated to as it has a lot of power under the Emergency, Subang MP Wong Chen said.

“I would say we are not happy at all. We know they are secretive. They should release a report.

“Yes, this is the Emergency and they have so much power, but at least respect the MPs, respect the rakyat and make a report, tell us what is the function of this committee,” Wong Chen said in a webinar titled ‘‘Why Does Parliament Need to Convene During Covid-19’, which was live-streamed on Facebook last night.

The webinar was jointly hosted by electoral watchdog Bersih and Malay daily Sinar Harian. Aside from Wong Chen, the other panellist was Pengerang MP and Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Azalina Othman Said.

Previously, the Emergency committee had released a statement saying it had agreed by consensus on a set of ‘criteria and thresholds’ for the continuation or the end of the Emergency, but it did not reveal what the ‘criteria and thresholds’ were.

Wong said it is easy to guess what these criteria and thresholds might be, such as the infection rate having to fall below a certain number or the vaccination rate having to reach a certain percentage, such as 50 percent, before the state of emergency can be ended.

However, it is important the committee publishes the actual criteria and thresholds so that the public can hold the government accountable on when the Emergency should end, he said.

Not only that, Wong said this government appears to only be utilising the Emergency for political purposes, such as stopping the Parliament from reopening.

'The army can be deployed to help with vaccination...'

Under the Emergency, the government actually has the power to mobilise the army to help with its efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

“It’s been five months (since the start of the Emergency) and the army hasn’t been mobilised at all. (The army) has over 500 doctors and nurses, they can be deployed to help with vaccination and such,” he said.

“The government also has the power under the Emergency to nationalise private property. I thought they would use this power to take over private hospitals, but they didn’t do this.

“I am not suggesting they do nationalisation, but they have the power. They can say, ‘okay, every private hospital has to reserve 20 percent of beds for Covid-19 patients’.

“They have all these powers, but they don’t use them. It’s clear they are using Emergency powers for politics, not to fight the pandemic,” the Subang MP added.

Wong implored Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to ‘do the right thing’ and ‘be accountable’.

“You cannot run. Eventually, it will catch up to you. This is a legacy issue and the rakyat are dying.

“Please go back. Rethink this. Find the right path,” he said.

Meanwhile, Azalina said she believes that Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Health Minister director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who are the government’s spokespersons when it comes to Covid-19 issues, are genuine about wanting to resolve the pandemic.

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Azalina Othman Said

However, she said, perhaps the approach they have been using for the past year in dealing with the pandemic may not be effective anymore.

“Maybe we need to change our approach,” Azalina suggested, pointing to vaccination being an effective solution, as proven in other countries.

She urged the government to look into allowing more channels of vaccine procurement in order to speed up the vaccination process in the country.

Speaking on the government’s powers under the Emergency, she said she had thought the government might have mandated vaccination, specifically for senior citizens who are at high risk when it comes to the Covid-19 disease.

“That was my assumption. So I hope the government will use (their powers under) the Emergency fully, not just an Emergency for political reasons but an Emergency for the survival of Malaysia,” she added.

Azalina also criticised the practice of playing the blame game, especially when laying the blame on the rakyat.

She said Malaysia is very lucky to have respectful citizens, because, in another country, the people may already be out on the streets protesting despite the current pandemic conditions.

“(The hashtag on Twitter) #RakyatGagal, every little thing they want to scold the rakyat, blame the rakyat.

“Eh, don’t get angry at the rakyat. Like father, like son (Bapa borek, anak rintik). They see what you do and they think, well, you can do it, why not them?

“Stop blaming the people. Take accountability. If approach A doesn’t work, try approach B,” Azalina said. - Mkini