IT is time for Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or politics, to unite to win the war against COVID-19 pandemic, said Democratic Action Party (DAP) veteran parliamentarian leader Lim Kit Siang.
According to the Iskandar Puteri MP, the country had a cumulative total of 9,340 COVID-19 cases and 127 COVID-19 deaths on the 63rd National Day 12 months ago.
“By tomorrow’s 64th National Day, we will have close to 1.75 million COVID-19 cases and 16,500 COVID-19 deaths – a phenomenal increase of 187 times for COVID-19 cases and another phenomenal increase of 130 times for COVID-19 deaths,” he said in a statement on Monday (Aug 30).
“We already have one of the longest COVID-19 waves in the world, lasting one whole year since the Sabah state general election last September.
“We beat all ASEAN and Asian nations in the ‘new cases per million population’ on Aug 28, 2021 on the Our World In Data website – ten times the world average of 68.39 as Malaysia’s score is 689.43.
“Can the new Health Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, turn the tide of defeat to victory in the war against the COVID-19 pandemic?” Lim asked.
He added that the country cannot afford another 12 months of upsurge in COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 deaths.
“At the pace of 187 times’ increase of COVID-19 cases and 130 times’ increase of COVID-19 deaths in the last 12 months, by the 65th National Day of Aug 31, 2022, we will have 327 million COVID-19 cases and 2.2 million COVID-19 deaths.
“We would have overshadowed the United States, the present world’s top country world with about 40 million COVID-19 cases and 655,000 COVID-19 deaths.”
While 327 million COVID-19 cases in Malaysia is impossible as it is 10 times Malaysia’s present population of 32 million, Lim acknowledged that this presents a grim picture of the magnitude of the disastrous trajectory of the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia in the last 12 months.
“Tomorrow is the bleakest and grimmest National Day in the nation’s 64-year history but Malaysians must demonstrate the resilience and gumption to spring back to win the war against the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
“I have a Malaysian Dream for the country to become a world-class great nation which could leverage on the best values and virtues of the four great civilisations in the world – Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western – which meet in confluence in Malaysia.
“But unless the existential threat of the COVID-19 pandemic is overcome, the Malaysian Dream will have to wait.” – Aug 30, 2021
