Rakyat suffering during emergency, says Anwar

 

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed the emergency was being used ‘to torture the rakyat’ and those criticising the government were being detained.

PETALING JAYA: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has accused the government of using strong-arm tactics by using the emergency to fight Covid-19.

Calling the government “samseng” (gangsters), he said those who criticised the government were being detained.

“Anyone who criticises the rakyat is detained. What is this? A country run by samseng (gangsters).

“They use the emergency not to run the country well but to torture the rakyat,” he said in his special message on Facebook Live today.

The PKR president said the government did not seem to have the capability to ease the rakyat’s suffering.

“Deaths (from Covid-19) are increasing. Patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are increasing. Positive Covid-19 cases are up, but testing is low,” he said.

The government, he said, cannot blame anti-vaxxers for the low vaccination rate, adding that during elections, the government was capable of meeting and transporting the handicapped community or the Orang Asli to cast votes.

“Why can’t they transport them to the vaccination centres then?”

Anwar further slammed Putrajaya for promising to carry out at least 75,000 vaccinations a day, which was far from the reality as health officials are only vaccinating 25,000 to 40,000 people a day.

“Why don’t they open more channels to vaccinate?” he asked.

Anwar also expressed disappointment as his friend had died two days ago due to a delay in taking him to hospital.

“We cannot blame the frontliners. They are working so hard. This is a question of planning.”

Citing the situation in Chennai, India, he said there was a Covid-19 war room there with integrated technology platforms to manage the coronavirus.

“They do street mapping to know where the Covid cases are. They have real-time mapping of each street,” he said.

Due to that, Anwar called for a proper exit strategy to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We need the right strategy, but our testing remains low.”

Anwar also called on the government to ease controls on vaccination stating, “Let the rich towkays (bosses) buy vaccines for their family and their staff. Why do we need to control everything?”

Anwar further urged the rakyat and party members to do their part in helping to improve the Covid-19 situation. He urged the rakyat to focus on good governance, the fight against corruption and corrupt politicians, as if they failed to do so, “our country will not be able to move forward”.

He said clear government policies would also bring investors back to the country and reduce the number of Covid-19 cases.

Under the emergency declared in January, Parliament and all state assemblies have been suspended.

The country has so far recorded 3,291 deaths, with 886 patients in ICU and over 85,000 active cases.

About 3% of the Malaysian population have been vaccinated. - FMT