Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin has urged the government to appoint a new "Czar" to design and lead a new approach to the country's Covid-19 response.
In a statement today, Khaled said it has been almost a year since the first movement control order (MCO) was implemented and yet there are few signs of improvements.
However, more people are losing their income while the public health system was buckling.
"A new general with fresh ideas and strategies is needed to lead an inter-ministry, multi-department, and multi-agency team to respond swiftly to the fast-changing nature of the pandemic.
"Our health and medical institutes are barely coping. Multiple hospitals have been dedicated to serving Covid-19 patients and our capacity is almost maxed out. Our frontliners are overworked and under-compensated.
"We would risk our medical institution collapsing if we were to continue any further without having a more sustainable plan," he said.
Khaled made it clear that he was not asking for the replacement of Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, noting that the latter's job meant he had other issues to deal with apart from Covid-19.
"Praise should be given where it is due. The director-general of health has been working tirelessly to keep Malaysia from sinking. Nonetheless, this situation has evolved to be a multifaceted issue beyond his power.
"It is time for us to not treat this as a health crisis, but a national issue. Ministries can no longer work in silos. We need a new Czar for our renewed approach to combat Covid-19," he said.
Khaled is a former Johor menteri besar. He currently does not hold public office. - Mkini
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