Malaysia recorded its highest number of Covid-19 cases in a day since the pandemic began with 27,831 Covid-19 cases yesterday as compared to the previous high on August 26 last year of 24,599 cases. Cumulative cases now stood at 3,111,514 and with 21 deaths yesterday taking the total death toll to 32,180.
The glaring incompetence sadly signals continuous failure in managing the COVID-19 pandemic by successive BN and PN administrations. The serial failures are repeated, comprising SOP U-turns, policy flip-flops, double-standards in both enforcement and compliance between VIPs and the rakyat as well as leaders not committed to their duties.
Further, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, incumbent Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad and MIC president S Vigneswaran were caught mingling closely with a crowd of politicians at a MIC event in Johor in flagrant violation of COVID-19 SOPs. As a Minister chairing the Covid-19 Quartet Ministers’ Meeting entrusted to urge public compliance with managing and announcing Covid SOPs, Hishamuddin has from a lawmaker mutated into a lawbreaker.
This lack of personal responsibility or public accountability deficit extends to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri who has not called for any meeting of the Special Committee on the Management of the COVID-19 pandemic since the last meeting on 5 November 2021. If the new wave of COVID-19 pandemic is a clear and present danger, there is no reason for why is there has been no meeting for the top COVID-19 national committee for more than 100 days.
Either Ismail gets serious about his job as Chairman of the Special Committee of the COVID-19 Pandemic by calling for a meeting or else dissolves this non-functional Committee as another empty showpiece. The time has come for the government to stop politicising the COVID-19 and follow other countries’ examples of allowing the normalisation of public life and commercial activities by observing SOPS including mask mandates.
Whilst we must be tough on COVID-19 and tough on the dangers of COVID-19, we must not be dictated to until our lives and livelihood are disrupted by a virus pandemic that is gradually becoming endemic like a common flu. We must accept, adapt and not fear to live together with COVID-19 as many of our neighbouring countries have done.
Despite the record number of cases, there is less public alarm due to nearly full vaccination of the adult population with 65.3 million doses administered and the low number of severe cases. Of the 27,831 cases only 0.35% or 97 cases were in the severe category of 3-5. Further two states (Kuala Lumpur and Johor) recorded Covid-19 ICU utilisation rate above 50 %. The government should put more resources into beefing up the COVID-19 ICU capacity in the event that rising infections require higher hospitalisation rates.