Resolve Sabah quarantine centre issues, don't play blame game - Najib tells DAP MP

CORONAVIRUS | Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin should have used the time since the terrible conditions at the Covid-19 quarantine centres in Sabah came to light almost two months ago to resolve the issue instead of finding excuses to blame the federal government, said former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

“Two months ago, this DAP parliamentarian knew the quarantine centres were in bad conditions but still wanted to blame the federal government.

“After being criticised again last week, this parliamentarian still wants to blame the federal government by giving false excuses which do not make sense.

“Why did he not use these two months to resolve the problem by finding a better place or to improve the existing quarantine centres so that Sabahans stopped complaining?” Najib said in a statement on his Facebook today.

He was responding to an article by Chan’s parliamentary researcher, John Wong Yu Ling, who had said the decision whether to use the Likas sports complex as a quarantine centre ultimately laid with the federal government and not the state government.

Describing this as “foolishness”, Najib questioned why the Sabah state government offered the space to the federal government if they knew it was in bad conditions.

“What foolishness is this? And then you want to blame the federal government for accepting Sabah’s offer?

“If you were sincere, find a nicer place to offer. If the federal government did not want to accept the nicer space and insisted on choosing a centre in bad conditions, then you have the right to blame the federal government,” he said.

Wong was responding to Sabah MCA Wanita chief Pamela Yong, who had on May 22 questioned the poor management and bad conditions of the quarantine centres in Sabah. She had also urged the state government to look into this matter.

Najib reiterated this is not a new issue as reports of the poor conditions in Sabah quarantine centres first arose in early April.

“However, no action was taken to resolve it. That is why Sabah MCA had to voice out last week after receiving many complaints,” he said.

In his article, Wong had said all quarantine centres in Malaysia, including in Sabah, have been gazetted and manpower provided for by the federal authorities and not the state authorities. The costs for the quarantine centres are also borne by the federal government, he said.

Previously, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had claimed that images of dilapidated Covid-19 quarantine centres in Sabah were fake news.

This is despite both federal and state officials acknowledging the problem. - Mkini