Press Statement
30th June 2021
Perikatan National should admit failure in containing the Covid-19 Pandemic
Although Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had announced a recovery package for Covid-19 relief spending to cushion the hardship of the rakyat, it is equally vital for the PM to also address the failure of the government’s current strategy to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases.
It is a pity that after a month of total lockdown, we are yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the pandemic.
We are now in the extended phase one of the National Recovery Plan which was recently extended as the number of cases in the country has not dipped below 4,000 which would allow the nation to move to the next phase.
A month has been wasted in an ineffective lockdown that has cost the government billions of ringgit. We have three more phases to go to be out of the woods.
What we see daily is the higher number of Malaysian being infected, where the Malaysian people are caught up by cruel surprises and anxiety of daily news of fluctuation of cases.
Businesses have been devastated and many people are jobless or are on unpaid leave in a lockdown that never seems to be handled efficiently enough to be highly effective.
The question that is in the minds of most Malaysians is why are we not able to achieve the target of reduced cases even after a total lockdown?
Have we failed to balance the two vital complementary actions of efficient vaccination and testing in reducing the numbers of those infected?
I have heard of people complaining that when they arrived at the vaccination centers adhering to their stated appointment day, they were told that vaccines have finished.
Has the government become too centralised that it failed to empower the state and local governments to take charge of the testing and vaccination processes in their respective states.
Ministers continue to break the law of their own Covid-19 SOPs while the authorities issue thousands in summonses to ordinary folk who violate the SOPs.
It’s time the Perikatan National Government reveals the actual reason why these cases have not significantly declined.
Have they completely mismanaged the whole situation?
PN must be honest about its failures, and reconvene Parliament immediately to address those same failures by working with opposition parties to broaden its perception of containing the virus and focus on effective processes and procedures to achieve the desired targets.
Ministers who have botched the management of the Pandemic or who have been caught violating the SOPs should be axed, immediately.
The PN government has very little time left to salvage their administration as the anger felt by the people has resulted in harsh description of the current ruling government, on social media.
M. Kula Segaran
MP for Ipoh Barat
DAP National Vice-Chairman
Former Human Resources Minister
