PETALING JAYA: Four days have passed, and there are no indications that there will be any emergency Cabinet meeting on the two conclusions of the Conference of Rulers’ special meeting on Wednesday, Lim Kit Siang (pix) said today.
The special meeting concluded that Parliament and the State Assemblies should be convened “as soon as possible” and second, there is no need for the extension of the emergency beyond Aug 1.
The first effect of the Prime Minister’s Office’s (PMO) three-paragraph statement. It “takes note” but it does not act when action is urgently called for, Lim pointed out.
“Secondly, it is clear that the information and advice of the Prime Minister to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong ‘on the course of the Covid-19 pandemic management, enforcement of the Emergency Ordinances, implementation of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Program, economic stimulus packages and financial assistance to the people, implementation of Parliamentary sessions, the National Recovery Plan and other related matters’ had not been comprehensive or satisfactory enough requiring further information and advice from other quarters, including leaders of various political parties and specialists,” the Iskandar Puteri MP said in a statement.
“Thirdly, the statement that the government will take follow-up measures based on the Federal Constitution and national laws to uphold the views of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers is a statement justifying ‘no action’, and this is why no action had been taken except for three-paragraph PMO statement, in the last four days.”
The veteran DAP leader said Health Director-General Tan Sri Noor Hisham Abdullah lamented yesterday that the sense of unity among Malaysians in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is still lacking.
“But who is to be blamed when there is no sense of urgency in the government although we are in the midst of an invisible but lethal war against the Covid-19 pandemic?” Lim asked.
“Noor Hishan admitted that standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance among the public is still an issue today though the pandemic has been around for more than a year.”
Lim said the prime minister and his Cabinet have to date refused to acknowledge that the emergency declared on Jan 11, 2021 to combat Covid-19 had been a dismal failure or Malaysia would not have suddenly catapulted to be one of the world’s worst performing nations in the Covid-19 pandemic while nations which had previously been regarded as the world’s worst performing nations have turned the corner and are addressing the Covid-19 in a more effective fashion as compared with Malaysia.
