Perikatan Nasional(PN) is a government in a state of permanent crisis responsible for exacerbating the real public health crisis of a surging COVID-19 infections and incapable of handling the expected spike of 8,000 cases daily. After having lost its parliamentary majority, PN leaders is selfishly focused more on their own political survival than the nation’s survival from COVID-19.
Every other day we see component party members of PN from UMNO, Bersatu and PAS, having emergency meetings not to discuss COVID-19, but how they can fix up their so-called “allies” in PN. It is highly irresponsible for UMNO leaders to call for early general elections in the midst of the greatest crisis in the country’s history.
Secretary-General Ahmad Maslan derogatory remarks against an ordinary worker who opposed UMNO’s call for early general elections because of COVID-19 shows how disconnected PN leaders are from the suffering of the ordinary rakyat. Ahmad had arrogantly stated that only educated people with PH.Ds will understand the necessity of early general elections.
The failure of the PN government is evident in their abysmal failure to secure an early delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines. Yesterday we witnessed the Singapore Prime Minister receiving his vaccine jab. Malaysia has to wait for another two months due to the ineptitude of the PN government more focused on political survival than the people’s health.
The excuse for the delay in that Malaysia cannot find a paltry sum of RM2.1 billion in an emergency crisis, displays the highest level of ignorance and incompetence of our Ministers and Cabinet. How many more Malaysians will die because of the delay in vaccine delivery?
Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has also criticized Ahmad Maslan for calling for executive interference in the judicial process when Ahmad expressed UMNO’s unhappiness with PN over several corruption cases involving UMNO leaders.
Stephen Hagger was referring to cases involving former Minister Tengku Adnan. Before then former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman and former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s step-son Riza Aziz also had their charges dropped.
No such warnings was ever issued by Stephen Hagger or other financial experts during the administration of Pakatan Harapan and neither did Malaysia suffer a sovereign credit ratings downgrade then.
Malaysians are sick and tired of endless politicking by PN and want the permanent political crisis in the government to end. Is Tan Sri Muhyiddin keeping silent and not going to claim responsibility for his Cabinet’s failure, when he had claimed credit previously for managing the COVID-19 crisis well?
The time has come for the PN government to hold meetings with all political parties to discuss the COVID-19 public health crisis. An emergency Parliamentary meeting is the best avenue to rally public support and forge national unity to enable Malaysians to come together to overcome COVID-19 together.
Lim Guan Eng
Secretary General
