DAP: If PM won't convene a pandemic committee, dissolve it

 

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been urged to convene the Special Committee on Pandemic Management following the record number of new daily Covid-19 cases reported yesterday.

In a statement today, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said if Ismail fails to convene the meeting, the committee should be dissolved because it has not held any meeting after Nov 5 last year.

"Either Ismail gets serious about his job as chairperson by calling for a meeting or else he should dissolve this non-function committee as another empty showpiece," Lim said.

He blamed the spread of Covid-19 on the lack of accountability by the government, citing how Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad and MIC president S Vigneswaran were fined for flouting Covid-19 protocols recently.

"This lack of personal responsibility or public accountability deficit extends to the prime minister, who has not called for any meeting of the Special Committee since the last meeting in November last year.

"If the new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is a clear and present danger, there is no reason for why is there has been no meeting for the top Covid-19 national committee for more than 100 days," Lim said.

Daily cases hit 27,831 yesterday

He is among the opposition figures who were appointed to the committee, which was formed on Sept 2 last year.

At that time, Ismail said the committee was a collective effort that would involve all stakeholders to ensure national recovery in the "Keluarga Malaysia" spirit.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry reported 27,831 new daily Covid-19 cases which broke the previous high record set in August last year.

However, hospitalisation of Covid-19 patients, although rising, remains much lower compared to August last year when less people were vaccinated against Covid-19. - Mkini