Media statement by MP for Iskandar Puteri, Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on 7 January 2021:

Are all political parties in the country prepared to meet to save Malaysia from the two great problems of 2021 – the Covid-19 pandemic and corruption?

The refusal of the Muhyiddin Cabinet to summon a Special Parliament to address Malaysia’s losing control of the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic is the height of irresponsibility of a kakistocracy.

It is accompanied by the failure of the government for the last ten months to launch an “all-of-government” and “whole-of-society” strategy and approach to save lives and livelihoods in the pandemic.and to plan for a quick and sustainable post-pandemic economic and national  recovery for the country.

The other sins of the Muhyiddin Cabinet in the Covid-19 pandemic like the failure to have a hands-on and effective Health Minister to spearhead the war against the Covid-19 pandemic and the irresponsible attitude and misconduct of the Perikatan Nasional Ministers and leaders whose double standards in refusing to set the national example  of complying with the Covid-19 SOPs had deepened and aggravated public distrust in the Muhyiddin government despite its reasonably well performance during the second wave of the pandemic.

It is horrifying that in the midst of this “once-in-a-century” pandemic crisis, when all thoughts should be focussed on how to overcome the pandemic with the minimum loss of lives and livelihoods, the major party in the ruling coalition is obsessed with the holding of the 15^th General Election to recapture power to enable their leaders to escape long-term prisons terms for their kleptocracy.

Tamrin Tun Ghafar in his New Year blog  “DEMI!!!” wrote:

“Oleh kerana MEMERLUKAN  sokongan orang Melayu yang telah jauh hati, kini TANPA SEGAN  SILU pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO mula MENIUP SERULING  dengan harapan tikus-tikus yang  BOLEH DIPERBODOHKAN  LAGI akan  mengikut mereka  sehingga mati kelemasan di dalam longkang.

“Kata mereka TANPA UMNO orang Melayu akan jadi pengemis di Tanahairnya sendiri.

“Yang sebenarnya pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO lebih senang jika orang Melayu terus miskin kerana dengan itu orang Melayu akan terus sokong mereka apabila dicampakkan gula-gula.

“Jika hilang sokongan, yang hilang ‘REZEKI’ ialah pemimpin bukan rakyat.

“ORANG MELAYU MESTI BERANI DAN TIDAK  MEMBENARKAN LAGI DIRI DARI TERUS DITIPU OLEH  PEMIMPIN-PEMIMPIN MELAYU SENDIRI.”

Malaysia has lost its way in the sixth decade of its nationhood and we have  failed to fulfil the aspiration of Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, for the country to be “a beacon of hope in a difficult and troubled world”, to the extent that there are now Cabinet Ministers who reject the five Rukun Negara nation-building principles  formulated during Tun Razak’s premiership and benefit from our unique position as the confluence of four great civilisations – Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western – to build a great Malaysian civilisation. This is also why Vision 2020 failed.

Did the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn, strive for Malaysia to be notorious on the world stage to be a kleptocracy?

We need a new national consensus to return Malaysia to restore our original dream for Malaysia to be a world-class great nation. 

Are all political parties in the country prepared to meet to save  Malaysia from the two great problems of 2021 – the Covid-19 epidemic and corruption?

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has warned that with the surge of Covid-19 infections, the health system is at breaking point.

He said that the healthcare system in the country was struggling to cope with the number of patients.

The most recent iteration of the conditional movement control order (MCO) has failed to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

Instead, daily new case numbers, as well as the infectivity rate (R0), has been on the rise.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry reported a record-high of 2,593 daily  new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 125,438 infections and 513 deaths.

On Dec. 30, I had forecasted that at the rate of Malaysia’s daily increase of Covid-19 cases, we were  likely to overtake  Myanmar with a greater cumulative total of Covid-19 cases in three weeks’ time.

I am shocked that my prediction is wrong, as we are likely to overtake Myanmar  may be by Sunday.

I suggest that all political parties meet in a National Conference  to find establish a new national consensus to return to the path to make Malaysia a world-class great nation and to address the two great issues of the new  year – the Covid-19 pandemic and corruption?

This is the real stuff of patriotism and love for Malaysia!

Any takers?

Lim Kit Siang
MP for Iskandar Puteri