FINGER-POINTING and hypocrisy reigned supreme on social media as of late, with various quarters more than happy to assign blame on one another for the country’s failure to contain COVID-19.
This is evident in hashtags like #KerajaanGagal and #RakyatGagal, with the latter popping up on social media over the weekend manifesting netizens’ frustration over certain Malaysians’ irresponsible behaviour that had led to a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.
This is following Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement that an estimated 200,000 people bypassed police roadblocks to travel across state borders to return to their hometowns during the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays.
This is despite the previous announcement that no interstate and inter-district travels were allowed, while the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration was only permitted to family members in the same household.
As a result, 24 Aidilfitri clusters, with a total of 850 positive case, have been recorded as of May 27.
Further angering netizens were the massive crawls observed at the Sungai Besi Toll Plaza and the Gombak Toll Plaza over the weekend, despite the inter-district and interstate travel ban.
Everyone has a role to play
This came less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the nationwide total lockdown, starting today.
This sheer irresponsible behaviour even caught the attention of Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who tweeted, “Where are you headed this weekend?”
Simple question yet it reflected his dismay and despair at the mass movement of Malaysians just before the lockdown came into effect.
Well folks, this is #RakyatGagal for us. Some Malaysians are quick to blame the Government for its failure to tackle the pandemic and yet, they themselves fail to comply with the necessary standard operating procedures (SOPs). Talk about pot calling the kettle black!
The number of COVID-19 cases surpassing the 9,000 mark several days ago should be a wake-up call for everybody. Curbing the pandemic is not the sole task of the Government; everyone should play their part by complying with the SOPs.
So, go home and take a good hard look at yourselves in the mirror, Malaysians. Ask yourselves if it is worth violating SOPs and spreading a deadly disease to your loved ones.
With the Malaysian healthcare system near breaking point, it would only be a matter of time before it collapses in entirety. When that happens, we will only have ourselves to blame. – June 1, 2021.
