IT may not be the Opposition – or even humans – after all that would ultimately throw a spanner into the works of Malaysia’s ninth Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to turn around the country from its current dismal state.
Former Premier Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak expressed fear that the over 80-point rebound of the FBM KLCI index yesterday (Aug 25) – or the fact that foreign investors have turned net buyers in Bursa Malaysia – can be easily undone by a spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Since last week, the country has remained in the top 10 list for new cases without factoring in the population size. In terms of population size, we still record among the highest rate the highest in the world for new cases and death cases,” cautioned Najib in his latest Facebook posting.
“As long as new cases are high, many foreign and local investors will not dare to invest (in Malaysia), set up new businesses or to grow their existing business even if they are given privileges.”
Meanwhile, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang opined that the sorry state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia urgently demand a new policy, strategy and approach.
“The war against the COVID-19 pandemic must be ‘all-of-government’ and ‘whole-of-society’ as the country will break the 1.6 million mark for cumulative total of COVID-19 cases today (Aug 25),” the DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri pointed out in a media statement.
“This is set to mark the grimmest 64th National Day in a week’s time with over 1.7 million COVID-19 cases and close to 16,000 COVID-19 deaths, earning Malaysia the 23rd rank among countries with the most cumulative total of COVID-19 cases.”
In a related development, Lim said although Ismail Sabri has come into office with the lowest public expectations, he is prepared to suspend judgment to give the newly appointed PM an opportunity to prove the pessimists wrong.
“(It is hoped) that he could create the conditions to develop a national consensus on the challenges facing Malaysia in the next 12-18 months by uniting all Malaysians in one ‘Malaysian family’,” he suggested.
“The first tests will come when Ismail Sabri announces his Cabinet and his actions before the vote of confidence in Parliament next month.” – Aug 26, 2021
