KJ started on 'right note' as health minister - Kit Siang

 

Khairy Jamaluddin’s debut as the new health minister received a nod from DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, who said the Rembau MP started on the right note.

Lim, who is Iskandar Puteri MP, noted that Khairy had promised to be transparent and addressed a number of important issues.

“Khairy has started on the right note as the new health minister, promising to be transparent and to provide more detailed Covid-19 data to the public while addressing several pressing problems and initiatives to intensify the Covid-19 operations by allocating more vaccines, manpower and medical equipment to five states - Sabah, Johor, Kedah, Penang, and Kelantan - which are recording a rapid rise in daily Covid-19 cases,” Lim said in a statement.

However, Lim said absent from Khairy’s maiden press conference as the health minister yesterday was the spiralling number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

“There are no signs of a falling trend in the escalating daily new Covid-19 cases and record-high deaths since June 15, when the National Recovery Plan was announced, when there were 5,419 daily new Covid-19 cases and 101 Covid-19 deaths, with the cumulative total of 667,976 Covid-19 cases and 4,069 Covid-19 deaths.

“This would mean that since the announcement of the National Recovery Plan on June 15, 2021, Covid-19 cases had increased by 2.64 times while deaths had increased by 4.2 times,” Lim said.

However, Lim said Khairy should be given time before his true performance is evaluated.

“In view of the incubation period for Covid-19, which is thought to extend to 14 days, it is only fair to wait for 14 days before any judgment is made of Khairy’s takeover of the Health Ministry with the attendant new policy, strategy and approach in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Will the end of the month see Malaysia on a trajectory of decline both for daily new Covid-19 cases and deaths?

“We will give Khairy one month for his first test as the new health minister,” he said.

Khairy has led the charge in the Covid-19 battle as soon as becoming health minister, including communicating with the public.

Public communication was previously left to Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah as Adham Baba, the health minister at the time, was prone to gaffes.

Among others, Khairy promised to release data on adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccines beginning next week.

He said out of 34.46 million vaccine doses administered up to Aug 30, the ministry received reports of 0.53 adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) reports for every 1,000 doses.

Only 0.04 out of 1,000 doses were reported as serious AEFI. - Mkini