Kit Siang: I waited for new Covid-19 strategy but only got statement backing Muhyiddin

 

Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang said as the Covid-19 situation in the country continued to deteriorate, he had waited for the government to announce a new strategy to manage the pandemic after the cabinet meeting yesterday.

However, Lim said what followed was instead a statement by cabinet ministers unanimously reaffirming their support for Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin as the prime minister.

"I waited for the outcome of the cabinet meeting yesterday, hoping that it would mark a new start and new strategy in the invisible but lethal war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

"But there was none - only a short statement after the cabinet meeting expressing the unanimous support of the ministers (including the nine Umno ministers) for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

"It was a snub for the Umno president and the Umno supreme council but it showed that the cabinet could not rise to the challenge of the existential threat to the nation posed by the Covid-19 pandemic though they are very capable of responding to the existential threat to the cabinet posed by the Umno president and Umno supreme council," Lim said in a statement.

Zahid had in the wee hours of July 8 announced that Umno was withdrawing its support for Muhyiddin following a decision by the party's supreme council. However, Umno ministers have refused to comply.

Yesterday, Malaysia saw a record high of 11,618 new Covid-19 infections with a cumulative case of 867,567.

Lim said at the current rate, the country could see one million cumulative infections by the end of the month and possibly 10,000 deaths by Merdeka Day on Aug 31.

As of yesterday, 6,503 people have died from Covid-19 with 1,333 of the deaths registered in the first two weeks of this month.

"Did the cabinet discuss this shocking prospect and what did the cabinet decide and what is the government doing about a new strategy to prepare Malaysians to live with the coronavirus?

"When will the cabinet set an example to stop politicking and focus on turning the tide of defeat to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic and plan for Malaysia to return to normalcy as is happening in other countries?" Lim asked. - Mkini