Malaysia keeps on breaking new records in every COVID-19 metric with 20,596 new cases, patients in ICU and those needing breathing aid as well as new deaths exceeding 10,000. DAP extends deepest condolences to the grieving families of the 10,019 victims.
It is regrettable that Prime Minister Mahiaddin Md Yassin marked this grim occasion not with any new measures to battle COVID-19 or that additional supplies of vaccines will arrive now, and not in two or three months’ time. Instead he announced the political appointment of Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu as the Prime Minister’s special adviser to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin with Ministerial status.
This is a complete waste of taxpayers’ funds. Further Mahiaddin has no political legitimacy to make such an appointment following the loss of his parliamentary majority after 11 UMNO MPs withdrew their support. In fact, any new appointments by Mahiaddin leading up to a confidence vote in Parliament in August or September, raises public suspicion that this is a form of “buying” political support.
How does Ahmad Faizal’s appointment to advise the prime minister on community relations and communications as well as socio-economic development help the battle against COVID-19 or overcome the economic recession?
The Emergency Proclamation and total lockdowns have not helped to reduce but increase infections and deaths. The incompetence of Ministers, double-standard in enforcement of Movement Control Order(MCO) restrictions and policy U-turns have only worsened the public health and economic crisis.
Ahmad Faizal’s appointment has clearly shown that Mahiaddin has lost the plot and has no conception or plan to guide Malaysia out of the current crisis. Malaysians want to see either a roadmap on reopening the economy quickly or mitigating measures on COVID-19 and a public accounting for the 10,019 deaths, 1,203,706 cases or more than RM500 billion in economic losses since MCO 1.0 last year, instead of a new Special Advisor with Ministerial status. There is no reason why Malaysia should fail together with Mahiaddin.
Lim Guan Eng
DAP Secretary-General
