When Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin revealed that he had secured a state of emergency from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, he also promised to set up an independent and bipartisan committee to advise the ruler on the matter.
However, almost a month after the emergency proclamation, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang is questioning why the panel has not been set up.
"The independent Covid-19 special committee which would advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the emergency and which was announced by the prime minister on Jan 12 has not yet been formed although Pakatan Harapan responded positively to the proposal by naming nominees to the committee," he said in a statement.
Harapan, the largest opposition bloc, agreed to participate in the committee on Jan 20.
"This almost four-week delay in setting up the special committee to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Covid-19 and the emergency should engage the priority attention of the prime minister," he said.
Lim criticised Muhyiddin whom he said was working on setting up a travel bubble with Indonesia at a time when Malaysia's borders were mostly closed due to Covid-19.
He added that whether there can be a travel bubble or not depends on the ability of both countries to bring the pandemic under control - which should be the priority.
"It is shocking that after a year of the worsening Covid-19 pandemic, the re-imposition of the movement control order, and the declaration of an emergency, a false sense of priority seems to pervade the top echelon of the Muhyiddin government," he said.
Lim stressed the need to completely overhaul the strategy against Covid-19.
He also reiterated the call for an "all-of-government" and "all-of-society" approach to fight the pandemic. - Mkini
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