1. Parti Pejuang telah kaji secara mendalam berkenaan pembukaan sekolah.
2. Hasilnya ialah kami berpendapat sekolah tidak boleh dibuka dalam masa terdekat. Kami meminta kepada Kerajaan baru supaya pembukaan sekolah ditunda sehingga wabak COVID-19 reda.
3. Dalam satu kajian yang dibuat oleh majalah The Economist, UK terdapat kenyataan seperti berikut: “Consider our Index worst performer, Malaysia”.
4. Index ini menilai prestasi semua negara di dunia dan Malaysia adalah yang terburuk sekali; bukan India, bukan Indonesia, bukan Philippines, tetapi Malaysia.
5. Ini menunjuk betapa tindakan-tindakan yang diambil oleh Kerajaan Perikatan Nasional, walaupun berkuasa tanpa had undang-undang dan Perlembagaan kerana isytiharan darurat, gagal mengawal wabak COVID-19.
6. Keadaan jangkitan di Malaysia amatlah teruk. Jika sekolah dibuka guru, murid dan ibu bapa akan terdedah kepada jangkitan secara besar-besaran.
7. Kami bercadang pengajaran di semua darjah dibuat melalui TV.
8. Caranya mudah sahaja.
9. Pertama: Guru yang terbaik di Malaysia ditugas untuk mengajar melalui TV. Mereka akan mengajar seperti biasa dihadapan TV yang akan tersiar di TV di rumah.
10. Dua: Tiap darjah akan diajar oleh guru yang terbaik bagi darjah itu.
11. Tiga: Pengajaran boleh dirakam oleh guru dan murid dan diulang berkali-kali untuk mentelaah di rumah.
12. Empat: Satu panel guru perlu diadakan bagi tiap 10 sekolah dan darjah. Mereka akan menjawab soalan oleh murid di kawasan mereka melalui telefon.
13. Lima: Ibu bapa dikehendaki menentukan anak mengikuti pengajaran di TV.
14. Enam: Terdapat banyak stesyen TV untuk siar syarahan guru bagi tiap darjah. Satu stesyen TV akan diguna untuk satu darjah.
15. Tujuh: Di rumah mungkin ada hanya satu peti TV. Jika ramai anak di darjah yang berlainan, sukar semua anak mengikut pelajaran di beberapa darjah. Untuk ini TV kecil boleh diguna yang terhad kepada menerima siaran sahaja.
16. Lapan: Di belakang guru akan diadakan papan hitam atau putih untuk guru tulis atau lukis.
17. Sembilan: Meja diadakan di depan guru untuk apa-apa demonstrasi yang diperlukan.
18. Akan ada berbagai masalah pada permulaan. Semua masalah boleh di atasi, termasuk teknikal dan teknologikal.
19. Dengan cara ini semua murid dan penuntut akan nikmati pengajaran guru yang terbaik di seluruh negara.
20. Apabila wabak COVID-19 tidak lagi mengancam barulah sekolah dibuka.
21. Cara mengajar perlu dikaji semula untuk mengguna manfaat teknologi moden.
TINDAKAN UNTUK COVID-19 (DARURAT)
1. Majalah Economist melapor bahawa Malaysia adalah negara yang terburuk sekali dalam dunia berkenaan dengan mengawal wabak COVID-19. Malaysia dikatakan negara “worst performer” berbanding negara lain di dunia.
2. Kita dimaklumkan oleh Kementerian Kesihatan bahawa pada hari ini, 20hb Ogos, 23,000 orang telah dijangkiti oleh COVID-19. Seramai 233 orang telah meninggal dunia dan beberapa lagi telah bunuh diri.
3. Tekanan jiwa yang dipikul oleh semua rakyat amatlah berat. Ramai yang kehilangan ahli keluarga, kanak-kanak yang kehilangan ibu bapa, yang dengan tiba-tiba jadi yatim piatu, kehilangan ketua rumah, kehilangan kawan dan keluarga.
4. Penderitaan mereka amatlah teruk sehingga ada yang bunuh diri.
5. Sebilangan orang yang ingin menyumbang tenaga dan kepakaran mereka untuk menghalang perkembangan wabak ini meminta supaya mereka diberi pengiktirafan oleh Kerajaan, tetapi ditolak. Mereka sanggup bekerja secara sukarela.
6. Mereka ini terdiri dari pakar perubatan, ekonomi, sosiologi dan lain-lain. Mereka mempunyai pengalaman menangani krisis. Mereka boleh bantu dalam usaha melawan wabak seperti ini.
7. Sekarang kita ada Kerajaan yang baru yang mungkin sibuk dengan urusan lain. Sebaliknya wabak ini memerlu pelbagai tindakan segera.
8. Jika badan yang mereka cadang diletak di bawah Kerajaan, politik akan mengganggu tindakan mereka. Adalah lebih baik jika mereka dilantik dan diletak di bawah kuasa Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
9. Saya khuatir wabak ini akan melanda negara dan ratusan yang akan meninggal dunia. Ekonomi tidak boleh pulih dan penderitaan orang ramai akan meningkat.
10. Percayalah wabak ini tidak mudah dikawal. Ia tidak akan pergi dengan sendirinya. Di waktu ini keadaan sudah jadi amat serius. Ia boleh jadi lebih serius dalam masa yang terdekat.
11. Kita perlu bertindak sekarang ini juga. Janganlah utama politik dan undang-undang pun. Sebenarnya inilah masa isytihar darurat kerana tindakan luar biasa perlu diambil. Kita tidak boleh tunggu Kerajaan disusun sebelum bertindak.
VAKSIN
1. Saya ucap tahniah kerana usaha Kerajaan tingkatkan jumlah suntikan vaksin.
2. 500,000 sehari boleh kurangkan kes baharu.
3. Tetapi saya berpendapat jumlah perlu dinaikkan lagi kepada 800,000 sehari kerana peningkatan kes baharu disebabkan terlalu ramai dari yang sudah dijangkiti berada disekeliling kita yang tidak dapat dikuarantin dengan berkesan.
4. Mereka terpaksa ada di rumah di mana ada yang belum dijangkiti. Mereka juga tidak patuh kepada SOP sepenuhnya.
THE REMOVAL OF WHITLAM
1. There is an incident in Australia when a Prime Minister was removed by the Governor-General. (read here)
2. I quote below an account of the incident:
“The first duty of a Government, even a reforming Government, is to govern well. The Whitlam (Prime Minister Gough Whitlam) Government was a blundering, poorly disciplined government. Whitlam himself was so committed to the platform and his mandate that he refused to change course when Australia along with the rest of the world entered an economic recession in 1974. He continued to spend big money on his reform program when he should have been cutting back on spending.
The Government’s biggest blunder was to enter into a dodgy scheme to raise a huge loan overseas so that the State could become the owner of mineral and gas resources. The Government pretended that this was a loan for “temporary purposes” so that it did not have to tell anyone about it.”
3. When this became known, the liberal leader Malcolm Fraser said that the Government was so bad and so damaging to Australia that he would force it to go to the people.
4. Whitlam declared he would never give in and hold an election.
5. Whitlam said again and again that the Governor-General would act only on his advice. In normal times that was true. But in times of crisis, a Governor-General does have special powers. Kerr (Governor-General Sir John Kerr) began to think he would have to use them.
6. So Kerr acted secretly without any warning, on 11 November 1975, he dismissed Whitlam as Prime Minister, installed Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister.
7. After Kerr had made up his mind to sack Whitlam, he checked with Sir Garfield Barwick (Chief Justice of the High Court) to see whether he was doing the right thing. Barwick said he was.
MAJLIS PEMULIHAN NEGARA
1. Saya merasa terpanggil untuk berkongsi sedikit pandangan berkait dengan Majlis Pemulihan Negara (MPN) yang ditubuh oleh Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Mahiaddin Md Yassin baru-baru ini.
2. Perlu saya jelas bahawa cadangan MPN ini pertama kali saya bentang kepada DYMM Yang di-Pertuan Agong ketika saya menghadap Baginda pada hari Khamis, 10 Jun lepas.
3. Ketika itu saya mengambil peluang mencadangkan penubuhan satu badan ala-MAGERAN 1969 yang boleh dinamakan Majlis Pemulihan Negara ataupun National Recovery Council. Ketika itu saya tidak berikan nama-nama ahli yang saya ingin cadangkan.
4. Cadangan penubuhan MPN ini timbul kerana rata-rata terdapat sentimen bahawa Kerajaan ini sudah gagal amat meluas dan krisis semakin bertambah.
5. Dengan jumlah kes baru mencapai 17,000 amat jelas sentimen bahawa Kerajaan ini gagal bukanlah satu retorik politik.
6. Kegelisahan kerana keadaan ekonomi yang merudum menambah kepada kemarahan dan ketidak-puasan hati rakyat terhadap Kerajaan. Hari ini rakyat sudah mula bawa kemarahan mereka ke jalanan.
7. Sekarang Kerajaan telah membuat keputusan untuk menubuh MPN Kerajaan. Ianya dipengerusi oleh Tan Sri Mahiaddin dan Menteri Kewangan Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz sebagai Menteri penyelaras MPN.
8. Menyuruh orang yang berkali-kali gagal memperbaiki kegagalan yang disebabkan oleh kegagalan mereka bukanlah sesuatu yang bijak.
9. Selain itu, turut dilantik ialah Menteri-Menteri Kabinet yang juga sebahagian dari Kerajaan yang gagal ini.
10. Ketika saya memberi cadangan penubuhan MPN kepada Yang di-Pertuan Agong, saya telah memikir secara amat mendalam keahlian badan itu yang saya yakin dapat membantu Negara mengatasi krisis ini selain menyediakan rancangan jangka panjang pemulihan.
11. Keahlian MPN ini seperti yang telah saya tekankan mestilah tidak mempunyai ahli politik parti-parti kerana mereka akan mempertimbang kepentingan parti mereka dahulu dan tidak rakyat dan Negara.
12. Keduanya, ahli-ahli mestilah terdiri dari pakar, berpengalaman, berupaya menangani krisis serta orang muda yang dinamik telah memperlihat kesungguhan membantu rakyat dan Negara.
13. Beberapa ahli politik yang saya cadang tidak boleh terikat dengan parti mereka.
14. Nama-nama yang hendak saya cadang dan kenapa saya cadang mereka adalah seperti berikut:
Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz
Tan Sri Lin See Yan
Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican
Tan Sri Mohamed Azman Yahya
Prof. Dr Jomo K. Sundram
15. Selain itu, dalam bidang perubatan, saya mencadangkan:
Tan Sri Dr. Abu Bakar Suleiman
Datuk Prof Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman
Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Lam Sai Kit
Datuk Dr Musa Nordin
Datuk Dr Amar Singh HSS
Dr Kumitaa Theva Das
16. Saya juga ingin mencadang beberapa pakar perundangan yang perlu untuk memastikan segala tindak-tanduk MPN itu tidak mencabar kedaulatan undang-undang dan perlembagaan Negara:
Prof Emeritus Datuk Shad Faruqi
Prof Dato’ Salleh Buang
17. Untuk mengatasi masalah pendidikan, saya bercadang memberi penekanan kepada pembelajaran dari rumah dan menggunakan televisyen dan program-program yang dirakam oleh ahli-ahli akademik, guru-guru dan pendidik terbaik supaya ibu bapa mudah membantu anak mereka dan ini dapat dirangka oleh:
YAM Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz
Tan Sri Mohd Shukri Ab Yajid
Samuel Isaiah
18. Saya juga ingin cadangkan beberapa nama ahli politik untuk menyertai MPN dan mereka dipilih bukan kerana politik kepartian tetapi di atas beberapa usaha yang telah mereka lakukan:
Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said
Hannah Yeoh
Ahmad Fahmi Fadzil,
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman
19. Saya percaya dengan menghadkan keahlian tidak lebih 20 orang, keputusan dan tindakan dapat dibuat dengan cepat.
20. Cadangan untuk melantik mereka tidak bermakna pegawai-pegawai tinggi Kerajaan akan terpinggir. Saya cadang supaya Panglima Angkatan Tentera, Ketua Polis Negara, Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan dan kesemua Ketua-Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian, Setiausaha-Setiausaha Kerajaan Sabah dan Sarawak serta Negeri-Negeri lain di Semenanjung dilantik sebagai ex-officio. Mereka ini akan dijemput hadir bila berkaitan dengan peranan mereka.
21. Setiap dari anggota-anggota MPN ini boleh, dengan kepakaran dan pengalaman mereka membentuk sub-committee mereka sendiri untuk mencadang langkah-langkah perlu dan diaju kepada MPN.
22. Jika mereka dilantik dan MPN diberi kuasa untuk menangani krisis yang dihadapi Negara secara fokus dan terancang, saya yakin badan ini akan mampu membantu Negara keluar dari kemelut yang begitu menggerunkan.
23. Nama-nama yang disenarai di atas dibuat tanpa pengetahuan dan persetujuan mereka. Saya bagaimanapun percaya, dengan perkenan DYMM Yang diPertuan Agong, apabila mereka dijemput menjadi anggota MPN, mereka akan bersetuju kerana ini satu National Service atau khidmat Negara.
24. Jika MPN yang saya cadangkan ini diterima, badan ini akan dapat berfungsi dengan segera dan hit the ground running.
COVID-19
1. Menurut laporan rasmi lebih satu juta rakyat Malaysia sudah dijangkiti COVID-19. Ini bermakna 31 juta belum dijangkiti.
2. Mungkin yang belum dijangkiti ini tidak dikesan kerana ujian tidak dibuat ke atas mereka. Seperti kata Presiden Trump, kalau dikurang usaha ujian, jumlah yang sudah dijangkiti juga akan kurang.
3. Tetapi jika kita terima angka rasmi sebanyak satu juta, maka yang tidak dijangkiti ialah seramai 31 million.
4. Soalnya kenapa begitu ramai yang masih tidak dijangkiti. Sebabnya tentulah kerana mereka tidak pernah berdekatan dengan mereka yang sudah jangkit. Ya. Mungkin juga kerana kita pakai penutup muka dan kerap basuh tangan. Tetapi yang utama tentulah kerana kita amal penjarakkan sosial.
5. Tetapi penjarakkan sosial tidak mudah diamal sepanjang masa. Tanpa sedar atau tidak sedar kita tidak amal penjarakkan sosial.
6. Demikian jika kita sembahyang berjemaah, kita tentukan jarak antara kita menepati SOP. Tetapi habis sembahyang, kita berjalan berduyun-duyun keluar masjid. Pada masa itu kita lupa amal penjarakkan sosial. Itulah masanya kita mungkin dijangkiti.
7. Demikian juga ditempat kerja, dalam bas, dalam pasar dan di lain-lain tempat dan masa.
8. Jika kita benar-benar ingin selamat dari jangkitan COVID-19, tentulah caranya ialah berdisiplin dalam amalan SOP. Juga jika kita adakan petugas khusus yang akan tentukan kita patuh kepada SOP.
9. Ya. Memang sukar dan membeban. Tetapi COVID-19 boleh bunuh kita. Tiap hari 200++ mati kerana COVID-19. Bukan sahaja orang tua. Orang muda juga boleh meninggal dunia kerana COVID-19.
10. Jika kita amal SOP secara sedar, ia akan jadi tabiat. Apabila sudah jadi tabiat, ia akan dilakukan secara spontan. Pada masa itu ia tidak lagi jadi beban.
11. Apabila jumlah kes baru terlalu besar seperti sekarang, cuma sebilangan yang sedikit sahaja yang boleh dirawat dalam hospital. Beribu yang lain terpaksa di kuarantin di rumah sendiri.
12. Di rumah rawatan tidak dapat diberi. Keluarga pula tidak boleh dekat. Jika pesakit menjadi lebih teruk keluarga tidak boleh buat apa-apa.
13. Satu daripada kesan COVID-19 ialah pesakit sukar bernafas. Untuk ini oksigen diperlukan. Tetapi di rumah tidak ada oksigen.
14. Walaupun jumlah kes baru tiap hari mencecah belasan ribu, seberapa yang boleh perlu mereka dimasuk dalam hospital. Untuk ini Kerajaan boleh membina bangunan kuarantin sementara atau mengambil alih dewan-dewan milik swasta.
15. Kelengkapan pusat ini terhad kepada katil biasa. Staf terhad kepada beberapa orang doktor dan jururawat. Sebenarnya di United Kingdom (UK) Kerajaan membina hospital sementara untuk 4000 katil. Yang penting ialah bekalan makanan dari luar dan tempat suci yang berjarak jauh.
16. Di fasiliti seperti ini, oksigen penting. Tugas doktor terhad kepada memberi oksigen apabila pesakit sesak nafas.
17. Pesakit yang pulih dalam masa dua tiga hari boleh discaj. Dengan cara pusat-pusat kuarantin seperti ini, mereka yang positif COVID-19 boleh dapat rawatan asas yang mencukupi.
18. Cara kedua yang berkesan untuk elak jangkitan ialah dengan suntikan vaksin. Oleh kerana kita perlu suntik sekurang-kurangnya 25 juta, tentulah ia akan ambil masa yang panjang. Semasa menunggu kita perlu amalkan SOP.
19. Menjadi tanggungjawab Kerajaan untuk suntik semua penduduk Malaysia secara percuma. Proses suntikan perlu dipermudahkan. Ada banyak masalah dengan MySejahtera. Ini perlu di atasi segera.
20. Memang baik untuk diadakan tempat besar pusat suntikan. Tetapi ramai juga yang tidak tunai temujanji. Untuk mereka, pusat suntikan bergerak perlu diperbanyakkan.
21. Sebenarnya unit suntikan bergerak ini memerlu hanya lima orang iaitu 1 atau 2 orang doktor, dua orang jururawat dan seorang penulis rekod. Mereka boleh suntik bukan sahaja dalam bas besar, tetapi dalam rumah pun.
22. Yang penting ialah penulis mengambil gambar Kad Pengenalan (I.C) dengan telefon bimbit untuk dimasuk ke dalam data Nasional. Suntikan yang kedua boleh dibuat dengan unit suntikan bergerak ke tempat yang sama.
23. Saya percaya jika Kerajaan dan orang ramai lakukan cadangan ini, jumlah pesakit baru dapat dikurangkan. Dalam mengurus wabak seperti yang terdapat sekarang pengurangan kes baru amat penting. Orang ramai perlu terima perasaan bosan dan penderitaan jika ingin selamat dari wabak ini. Jika tidak sanggup, kematian akan bertambah. Ratusan dari kita dan keluarga kita dan kawan kita akan menjadi mangsa COVID-19 ini. Kita juga akan jadi mangsa.
24. Ini hanya pendapat saya.
17,000 COVID-19 NEW CASES
1. How did this huge number of new cases become infected?
2. Well, in the first place before they were tested positive, they were moving around and contacting a lot of other people who were already infected but were also not yet tested.
3. With lots of people moving around it is impossible to trace back the people who had contacted the 17,000 new cases. Now that they have been found to be positive, it becomes important to isolate them from people who have not yet been infected. The need is for all 17,000 people to be isolated i.e. to be properly quarantined.
4. The level of infection among the 17,000 is not the same. Obviously, they cannot all be admitted into hospital. Only the serious ones would be hospitalised and treated. The less serious would run into thousands. They cannot be properly quarantined. Most of them would have to stay at home.
5. But there are other people at homes. Most of them just cannot be isolated from family members. The end is that many or all the family members would be infected. Before they could be swabbed, they would move around and infect other people.
6. They and the people they contacted would show symptoms and when tested they would be positive. For each one sent home to be quarantined, 2 or 3 others would have become infected. As pointed out above, before they could be tested, they would infect others. From the 2 or 3, 2 or 3 others would be infected.
7. If out of 17,000, only 1,000 could be hospitalised the rest (16,000) would infect multiples of that number. So, the new cases would increase all the time. The bigger the number of those quarantined at home, the bigger the number of new cases.
8. We have missed the opportunity to reduce the number of new cases when they were small. Now it is impossible simply because of the multiplier effect of home quarantined cases.
9. The lockdown and SOP cannot work now. People are too tired or undisciplined to obey the most important SOP, i.e. staying apart. Many times, in the day they would be in contact with someone. If they fail to wear masks or wash their hands, the infection would take place.
10. During quarantine the different SOP would be breached many times.
11. The only answer would be vaccination. We are vaccinating 500,000 a day. But it is not enough. Free vaccination must be given to everyone very, very quickly.
12. Apart from the mega centres, there should be numerous mobile units going to the people wherever they may be. The Government should buy, borrow or steal in order to speed up.
13. If it doesn’t then the new cases would rapidly increase, the deaths would also be in the hundreds and the suicides would be dozens a day. All these create new problems which have to be handled.
14. Politics cannot solve these problems. It can only make matters worse.
EMERGENCY
1. The Malaysian Constitution provides for the declaration of a state of emergency.
2. A state of emergency is necessary because the ordinary or normal structure, constitution or laws of the country do not provide for action to be taken to deal with a situation threatening the country.
3. Under a state of emergency actions, and structures not provided in the constitution and laws can be taken so as to deal with the reason or threats facing the nation.
4. The threats or cause which justify the declaration of the emergency has to be identified.
5. In the 1969 case, the reason was the race riots resulting in the breakdown of law and order.
6. In 2020 the stated reason for a declaration of the state of emergency was the COVID-19 pandemic. No other reason was stated.
7. Therefore the Government needs to show and to act beyond the provision of the Constitution and the laws specifically to deal with the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
8. The Government may claim that a sitting of Parliament would obstruct the actions needed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. But the sitting on 26 July is merely to brief members on the Government’s plans for dealing with the pandemic. It has already been demonstrated that these plans are ineffective. The number of new cases, deaths and suicides have actually greatly increased during the emergency period.
9. Both the plan and the briefings do not require a state of emergency as they are not against the Constitution or the laws of the country.
10. So they do not warrant the declaration of an emergency. On the other hand it is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a serious turn. New cases have increased above 8,000 daily, deaths have reached 6,260 and suicide cases have reached 468 (as of Jan – May 2021).
11. People are suffering from the loss of their loved ones, from inability to work or do business and earn a living, from the tensions caused by the lockdown, lack of food, inability to look after their families etc.
12. The pandemic has also affected the country’s economy and finance, the social life of the people and the uncertainties in politics.
13. The Government has used the emergency to make laws by decree e.g. the fake news law and the raising of funds for the Government.
14. Clearly under the emergency anything that can mitigate or blunt the effect of the pandemic is legitimate.
15. The King under the constitution acts on the advice of the Prime Minister or the Ministers. But this requirement is for normal situations.
16. But in an emergency if the action is in order to deal with the cause of the emergency i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic, the ordinary requirement for the King to be advised by the Prime Minister, if this stands in the way of dealing with the epidemic, then this provision in the Constitution can be disregarded.
17. The situation is very serious. There is a need for immediate action, even if the action is contrary to the provisions of the Constitution or the laws of the country.
18. It is proposed that a special organisation be set up immediately, with special powers to act in whatever ways to reduce the increase in new cases, to reduce it until it ceases to be a threat to the lives and normal activities of the people.
19. The actions to be taken should be funded by the Government under a special allocation commensurate with the needs of the actions. Civil servants involved in the implementation must be put at the disposal of the organisation.
20. The organisation must be given the same powers and authority as that given to the National Operation Council in the 1969-1971 Emergency.
MORE OF THE SAME
1. Today (June 29, 2021) there are 6,437 new cases. It was 5,000 plus these last few days. One hundred and seven people died today bringing the total to 5,108. There had been quite a number of suicides.
2. Clearly the lockdown has not reduced the number of new cases or deaths. But the MCO will be continued from today for more days. Will the number of new cases decrease? Probably not. But we are instructed to continue with lockdown and MCO until the new cases are reduced, But when? After that more days of lockdown and so on. And the cases will remain high and more would die and more would commit suicide. Already the strain is unbearable. But more lockdowns. More of the same.
3. It is always more of the same. The people will suffer, will die, will commit suicide. For the Government, this is okay. The Government remains in power. Parliament will not sit until the Prime Minister advises the King.
4. What about the people. They will continue to suffer. That is alright so long as the Government continue to be in power. That is important. The sufferings of the people is not important.
5. They are without money, without food. They are desperate. They are killing themselves. That’s okay. Not enough beds. Well quarantine at home. You get worse. No oxygen. You die. But that is preordained.
6. The people must appreciate that certain businesses must go on. We cannot afford to lose 2 billion Ringgit a day. If we have to starve, to die, that is the cost we must pay.
7. Now your friends and members of your family are dying. That is not the Government’s fault. The virus does not discriminate.
8. So accept the lockdown, accept the MCO. It is good for you. Eventually, the pandemic will be over. If you survive you can still enjoy life. Just imagine, you can actually vote in the next election and the Government you choose will be sold at the highest price. The backdoor is open. There is money to be made.
9. Politics are what matters. Remaining as Prime Minister, becoming Prime Minister – that is very important.
10. People getting sick, people dying, people committing suicide, starving, being broke, divorcing etc. etc. – all these are okay as long as the Prime Minister is Prime Minister, Ministers and Deputy Ministers get their good pay to do nothing.
11. Don’t have Majlis Pemulihan Negara. Let the country be destroyed. Let the new case remain high. The King must listen to the advice of the Prime Minister. The King is a constitutional monarch. The Prime Minister is the absolute King.
12. No problem. Give the same medicine i.e. impose lockdown, MCO and SOP. Make it difficult for vaccine to be imported. Can make money – why not. What is a few deaths, a few suicides? Yes. Let there be more deaths and more suicides.
13. Have more of the same.
THE NATIONAL RECOVERY PLAN
** This article was published in THE EDGE DAILY, June 28, 2021
1. The Government has announced a National Recovery Plan. Unfortunately it is more of a time table for recovery based on the number of new cases and the dates the lockdown would be loosened. How the reduction is to be achieved during the stipulated period is not explained. The virus may not oblige and continue to plague the nation despite the time table.
2. We are now seeing a rise in the number of new cases. When the number decreased to 4000 plus, we believed that it must be due to the strategy adopted by the Government. But then the figure started to rise again. On June 18 new cases increased to over 6000. This figure does not seem to accord with the time table.
3. Actually the recovery plan should focus on the action to be carried out to reduce the number of the new cases. We know the measures that have to be taken.
4. We know for example the SOP is intended to reduce the spreading of the pandemic. We also know that the MCO is also intended to reduce infection. But the increase in the number of new cases mean that the SOP and the MCO have not been effective.
5. The question is why? The Government needs to study the situation. Is it because people are disobeying Government instruction? For example the masks are not worn properly or the social distancing is not practiced.
6. We know about clusters. Why are there these clusters? What happened? The workers for example may be lax in practicing the SOP. They are not very disciplined. No one is overseeing their obeying the SOP.
7. The workers go to work in buses. The workers’ buses may not be sanitised. Maybe there are too many on the buses.
8. The workers have to walk from the bus to the work place and back. Do they keep their distance from each other? And at the place of work are they separated from each other far enough. How do they behave during coffee break or when they are being briefed?
9. Many live in workers’ quarters. Some of these are well constructed but some are hastily-built huts. Do they keep their social distances while in their quarters? How far are their beds from each other?
10. Yes, there are many occasions when the workers expose themselves to infection. Merely ordering them to obey the SOP is not enough. The authorities, the police, RELA and frontline people must ensure that the SOP is followed properly. Merely imposing fines is not enough.
11. Everyday more than 6000 new cases are identified. We do not have enough beds for all of them. Some with mild symptoms have been asked to quarantine at home. As we all know mild cases can become serious. At home members of the family cannot go near them. With the virus one of the effect is to have difficulty in breathing.
12. At the hospital oxygen would be given. But at home there is no oxygen. The family members feel distressed watching their family members unable to breathe. He may die and the family members could not handle the deceased. But can they just do nothing? They may want to do something. When they go near the deceased, they may get infected. Then we are going to see a cluster. And the number of new cases will increase.
13. Vaccination is effective in reducing cases. But there also we find problems. Just registering is a problem. People in the rural areas, especially old people may not have handphones, or may not know how to register online. They may be too old, incapable.
14. Initially the vaccination centres are in the urban areas.
15. I can go on. But it is clear that the management of the pandemic is not very good. It is improving now but more can be done with less hassle.
16. This is about the pandemic. What about the economic, the finances, the social problems. Already people are committing suicide. There are lots of domestic quarrels and beating up.
17. Some politicians believe that what we need to do is to have a Parliament. Yes this is good and necessary. But many seem to think that all that is needed is to change Government. I think a change is needed. But the likelihood is to get another weak Government with paper thin majority. The concern would be about becoming Prime Minister – that’s all.
18. With all these problems some people only see opportunities for making money. Maybe this has contributed to the shortage of vaccine.
19. The Government is listening and doing something. But there are lots more things to do. Only professionals with vast experience can come up with ideas to tackle all the four crises.