Kit Siang: With 2,149 dead, PN not fit to be in power

 

Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang said Malaysians had never expected the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government to allow the Covid-19 pandemic to deteriorate to such a stage where more than 2,100 people had died.

He pointed out that prior to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government, none had died from Covid-19.

"If the question had been asked at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic 17 months ago what to do with a government which allows half-a-million people in Malaysia to be infected with Covid-19 and more than 2,100 people to die of it, the answer will be that this government is not fit to be in power and must be replaced.

"Today, Malaysia crossed the half-million mark for total cumulative total of Covid-19 cases and our Covid-19 fatalities stand at over 2,149 deaths.

"This is a sombre reminder that we are at war, though an invisible war, and that we have lost 2,149 lives as of yesterday and more lives would be lost before the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control," he said in a statement.

Emergency a ‘complete failure’

Lim said the state of emergency, purportedly to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control, has also been a complete failure.

The emergency was declared on Jan 12 but had come into effect on Jan 11, according to the national gazette.

He noted that since the emergency was declared, another 1,590 people had died from Covid-19.

The death toll was 559 and cumulative cases at 141,533 when emergency was announced.

Amid the escalating situation, Lim said it was unfortunate that the National Security Council (NSC) has failed to consider the reconvening of Parliament, which was suspended under the emergency.

He said the NSC should also end all Covid-19 standard operating procedures flip-flop and prioritise the restoration of public confidence in the battle against the pandemic. - Mkini