More people die of dengue than Covid-19, Kedah MB tells critics

 

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Mohd Nor said the state government should not be blamed for the surge of Covid-19 cases in the state because it was not something it could anticipate.

This came as Kedah recorded 153 cases today, mostly in the Alor Setar Prison.

“People are saying we in Kedah don’t know how to do our jobs. But what can we do? This was already coming our way. It wasn’t like we can see this virus. We did not commit any sin. This is a pandemic.

“More people die of dengue, malaria, H1N1, cholera, tuberculosis and many other diseases which have no vaccines. Eventually, we will have to accept that Covid-19 is among us and not instil an excessive stigma around it,” he told reporters at Wisma Darul Aman in Alor Setar today.

Speaking after an exco meeting, he said, Covid-19 patients were being wrongly treated as “sinners” even though they did nothing wrong in contracting the virus.

He added HIV/Aids patients, too, had been accepted even though some were infected after committing “sinful acts”, unlike as with Covid-19.

“The public now views those who are Covid-19 positive as sinful and worthy of condemnation, including the de facto religious affair minister. But they didn’t commit any sin. No one asked to be infected with Covid-19. They were infected while performing their duties.

“This isn’t HIV/Aids where the virus spreads through same-sex sexual intercourse which is forbidden and sinful (in Islam) or through injecting drugs, which is wrong by law and harmful to health.

“Yet after some time, HIV/Aids patients, too, have organisations which support them and have campaigns like the 'Red Ribbon' to promote acceptance as if they did nothing wrong,” he said.

HIV/Aids is transmitted through unprotected sex with someone infected (regardless of sexual orientation or gender), sharing drug equipment such as hypodermic needles with an infected person and from mother to child during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding.

‘Stop blaming politicians’

Malaysia is experiencing a new wave of cases nationwide, a combination of prison clusters in Sabah and Kedah, migrant clusters in Sabah and travel from hotspots in Sabah to the rest of Malaysia.

On Oct 5, de facto religious affairs minister Zulkifli Mohamad (above) was the first cabinet minister to test positive for Covid-19. He had returned from Sabah on Sept 24 and travelled to six other states and territories before he tested positive.

He did not observe quarantine as the home quarantine order for Sabah returnees was only introduced on Sept 27.

However, he has received public backlash for not observing a self-quarantine and continuing to travel interstate despite returning from a Covid-19 hotspot.

On social media, the hashtag #KlusterMenteri has gained traction, after seven cabinet ministers were told to quarantine themselves after contact with Zulkifli.

Including Zulkifli, ten politicians have tested positive after campaigning in Sabah, prompting public outrage against politicians.

Muhammad Sanusi said the anger was unjustified because politicians were not the only ones found to be infected after returning from Sabah to peninsular states.

“Other were infected too, don’t just blame politicians. I find it odd that people are blaming politicians,” he said.

He said instead of congregating on social media to condemn those infected, it was better if the public concentrated on observing social distancing, wearing face masks and washing their hands regularly.

“Even the United States president was infected and his wife, too,” he added. - Mkini