As the PN government appears completely impotent and helpless to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is facing an economic crisis that is rapidly spiralling out of control. The surge of COVID-19 daily infections which hit a record high of 15,573 cases on 23 July, with cumulative infections of 980,491 is a sign that the situation is going to get worse before it gets better.
By tomorrow Sunday, Malaysia will have the dubious honour of being a member of the million COVID-19 cases countries club. There is a need for new thinking instead of stubborn tribalism or group think, where the government can no longer cling to measures and approaches to fight COVID-19 that do not work or are ineffective. As Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. Professional expertise should trump political partisanship especially in enforcement to avoid the current practice of double-standards between Ministers and the rakyat.
Equally alarming is the dire straits of our economy, with anaemic growth expected this year in contrast to the overly optimistic projections of 7.5% GDP earlier by the PN government. That Malaysia will be mired in recessionary-like conditions is evident when I distribute food baskets to the poor and needy, where recipients comprise many who had never sought aid before. The people want jobs more than food baskets or be allowed to work or to run their businesses so that they can earn income to pay for the daily expenses.
Having failed comprehensively previously, the PN government is now establishing a NRC involving subject-matter experts, professionals, industry representatives and opposition parties. DAP has not received any official notification and will consider our participation after receipt and studying the terms of reference. If the government is serious and committed to save the country out of the gravest health and economic crisis in history, then the subject-matter experts in the NRC must not be connected politically nor linked with contentious legacies of the previous government. There is already sufficient political representation from the government Ministers and the opposition parties.
These subject-matter experts in the NRC must not only have the professional background but possess the unbridled courage to speak truth to power. Several of the so-called subject matter experts appointed obviously do not qualify when they had either condoned or maintained a loud silence on the greatest financial scandal in history, the RM52 billion 1 MDB scandal.
One of the NRC members Wong Chun Wai is the current Advisor and former Editor-in-Chief of the Star, owned by MCA. Chun Wai is naturally a mouthpiece of MCA. But Chun Wai also aggressively promoted the infamous Jho Low of 1MDB fame when Chun Wai interviewed and published Jho Low in the Star on 29 July 2010. When the financial wrongdoings in 1MDB were exposed, neither The Star nor Chun Wai offered any mea culpa nor pursued the shady dealings unlike The Edge newspaper. DAP would suggest that Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon, the Chairman of Royal Selangor Pewter, with his proven background and expertise, would be a more qualified replacement for Wong Chun Wai.
For Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamad Azmin Ali to sit together with former Khazanah CEO Azman Mokhtar in the NRC, is ironic when Azmin was the most aggressive in attacking Azman’s stewardship of Khazanah. Azmin revealed in Parliament in 2018 that Khazanah lost US$20 million in a lingerie retailer in India and RM3 billon investment via a private equity to take over a bank went bust. If Azman Mokhtar is now appointed, is this not a humiliating slap in the face for Azmin who should not sit in the NRC if he is a man of honour?
Other subject-matter experts that should have been considered for the NRC are prominent economist Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram, with emphasis on the poor and socially disadvantaged. Further, famous cardiothoracic surgeon Tan Sri Yahya bin Awang, can offer a different medical perspective on the way out of the current health crisis. Malaysia’s Iron Lady Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz should also be chosen as one who will not fear to speak truth to power.