Why the government so slow and tardy in presenting  a comprehensive package to rescue SMEs in the Covid-19 pandemic economics when compared to  other countries like United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Australia  and Singapore?

Kenapa kerajaan begitu lembab dan lambat mengumumkan pakej komprehensif bagi menyelamatkan PKS ketika krisis pandemik Covid-19, berbanding negara-negara lain seperti United Kingdom, Jerman, Perancis, Denmark, Australia dan Singapura?

Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC) dalam satu kenyataan semalam menggesa Putrajaya supaya menjadikan kepentingan untuk memelihara kebajikan pekerja sebagai salah satu daripada syarat wajib untuk perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (PKS) mendapatkan bantuan daripada kerajaan.

Kenyataan itu turut membangkitkan persoalan; mengapa kerajaan begitu lembab dan lambat untuk mengumumkan pakej komprehensif bagi menyelamatkan PKS yang terkesan dari segi ekonomi ekoran pandemik Covid-19, berbanding negara-negara lain seperti United Kingdom, Jerman, Perancis, Denmark, Australia dan Singapura?

Dalam keadaan ekonomi mengalami kelembapan ekoran perintah kawalan pergerakan (PKP), kegagalan kerajaan untuk bertindak pantas dalam menangani masalah ekonomi dan perubatan akan dilihat sebagai suatu tindakan yang tidak bertanggungjawab serta cuai.

Di Amerika Syarikat, tindakan tidak bertanggungjawab serta cuai dalam menangani Covid-19 seperti ini dipertanggungjawab terhadap Presidennya, Donald Trump, di mana beliau dikatakan akan berdepan prosiding pendakwaan (impeachment).

Di United Kingdom, kerajaannya telah mengumumkan tiga pakej rangsangan ekonomi sejak 11 Mac lalu, antaranya:

1. 11 Mac; pakej rangsangan khas Covid-19 berjumlah £30 bilion; termasuk bantuan kebajikan dan sokongan perniagaan, perubahan bayaran cuti sakit dan bantuan tempatan; termasuk £7 bilion untuk perniagaan dan keluarga serta £5 bilion untuk National Health Service (NHS);

2. 17 Mac, langkah-langkah termasuk menyuntik dana berjumlah £330 bilion – bersamaan dengan 15% KDNK UK – dalam bentuk jaminan pinjaman perniagaan dan £20 bilion untuk sokongan perniagaan serta pemberian dana untuk membantu firma yang mengalami masalah aliran tunai sepanjang tempoh krisis ini, termasuk perniagaan runcit dan perhotelan;

3. Pada 20 Mac, menyuntik sejumlah £78 bilion untuk pelbagai program termasuk mengeluarkan geran kepada syarikat-syarikat bagi menampung sehingga 80% gaji pekerja dengan syarat syarikat tidak membuang pekerja (sehingga £2,500 sebulan setiap seorang); dan meningkatkan kredit cukai bersih untuk individu yang dibuang kerja iaitu sebanyak £1,000 setahun, bagi membantu lebih daripada empat juta isi rumah yang terjejas di seluruh negara, dalam satu pakej bernilai £7 bilion.

Ahli Parlimen DAP yang juga mantan Timbalan Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Dr Ong Kian Ming telah menyenaraikan sepuluh contoh PKS di Malaysia yang amat memerlukan bantuan daripada kerajaan.

Saya justeru menggesa Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin supaya tidak berlengah lagi dan segera mengumumkan pakej penyelamatan ekonomi terutamanya untuk PKS.

Perdana Menteri juga perlu menggunakan peluang daripada pakej baharu ini untuk menunjukkan keprihatinan kerajaan terhadap nasib golongan yang paling terjejas teruk akibat arahan PKP, termasuk mereka yang kehilangan sumber rezeki kerana terbatas pergerakkannya.

Pandemik Covid-19 bukanlah semata-mata tentang krisis kesihatan – ia juga tentang krisis ekonomi, justeru pembuat dasar harus menyesuaikan pendekatan mereka setiap hari selaras dengan kesan yang dibawa pandemik ini terhadap tahap kesihatan dan ekonomi di negara kita.

Menteri Kewangan, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz pada Sabtu lalu, berkata pakej bantuan untuk PKS sedang dalam penelitian pihak kerajaan.

Tengku Zafrul dan pembuat dasar dalam kerajaan seharusnya menggunakan pakai semangat “Bertindak Pantas dan Lakukan Apa Sahaja” bagi menangani masalah ekonomi akibat pandemik Covid-19.

Inilah sebabnya mengapa Malaysia harus mengambil iktibar daripada amalan terbaik dari negara-negara lain, baik dari segi ekonomi mahupun kesihatan, dalam melawan dan membendung pandemik Covid-19, supaya Malaysia terhindar daripada mimpi ngeri yang dialami negara-negara lain.

Kita tidak mahu jadi seperti Itali, Sepanyol, Perancis, apatah lagi United Kingdom dan Amerika Syarikat di mana pandemik Covid-19 masih bermaharajalela dan semakin memuncak.

Di Sepanyol, rakyatnya mampu menarik nafas lega kerana negara itu mencatatkan angka kematian terendah iaitu sebanyak 674 dalam tempoh sembilan hari.

Di Itali pula, negara itu mencatatkan angka kematian terendah iaitu seramai 525 orang pada Ahad lalu.

Itali, Sepanyol dan Perancis mungkin telah meratakan lengkungan pandemik Covid-19, bagaimanapun ini semua bergantung kepada situasi pada dua atau tiga hari akan datang.

Namun berlainan pula di United Kingdom dan Amerika Syarikat. Pandemik Covid-19 masih menggila dan kes jangkitan meningkat dengan mendadak di kedua-dua negara terbabit.

Perdana Menteri United Kingdom, Boris Johnson turut dimasukkan ke hospital untuk pemeriksaan, selepas 10 hari disahkan positif Covid-19. Sementara di negara jirannya, Ketua Pakar Bedah Amerika Syarikat, Jerome Adam memberi amaran bahawa minggu hadapan akan berlaku apa yang digambarkannya sebagai detik “Pearl Harbour” — “Detik paling sukar bagi kebanyakan rakyat Amerika”.

2,403 rakyat Amerika telah terkorban dalam serangan Pearl Harbour. Sehingga kini, virus Covid-19 telah meragut empat kali ganda nyawa rakyat Amerika Syarikat berbanding jumlah korban perang tersebut – dengan jumlah kematian dicatatkan sebanyak 9,557, mengalami peningkatan sebanyak 1,106 sejak 24 jam yang lalu.

Malaysia harus bertindak pantas dan melakukan “apa sahaja” bagi memenangi perang terhadap Covid-19 dan seterusnya memenangani peperangan dalam memulihkan semula ekonomi yang terjejas teruk, namun kita harus mengikuti segala perkembangan pandemik Covid-19 di seluruh dunia kerana ekonomi global juga turut ikut terjejas.

Senario global menunjukkan kes Covid-19 sudah mencapai 1,272,737 kes sementara angka kematian sudah mencapai 69,491.

Data 12 negara yang mencatatkan kes jangkitan Covid-19 tertinggi di dunia (termasuk jumlah serta peratus kematian) dan Malaysia adalah seperti berikut:

Amerika Syarikat: 334,232 kes; 9,557 kematian (2.86%)

Sepanyol: 131,646 kes; 12,641 kematian (9.6%)

Itali: 128,948 kes; 15,887 kematian (12.3%)

Jerman: 100,123 kes; 1,584 kematian (1.58%)

Perancis: 92,839 kes; 8,078 kematian (8.7%)

China: 81,669 kes; 3,329 kematian (4.07%)

Iran: 58,226 kes; 3,603 kematian (6.2%)

UK: 47,806 kes; 4,934 kematian (10.3%)

Turki: 27,069 kes; 574 kematian (2.1%)

Switzerland: 21,100 kes; 715 kematian (3.4%)

Belgium: 19,691 kes; 1,447 kematian (7.35%)

Belanda: 17,851 kes; 1,766 kematian (9.9%)

Malaysia: 3,662 kes; 61 kematian (1.66%)

Kerajaan harus belajar daripada kejayaan Korea Selatan dalam memerangi Covid-19.

Seperti yang ditegaskan Menteri Luar Korea Selatan, Kang Kyung-wha, adalah penting untuk kerajaan mendapatkan kepercayaan rakyat dan bersikap telus dengan orang awam.

Seperti yang dijelaskan Kang:

“Kunci kejayaan kami adalah bersikap telus dengan orang awam – berkongsi secara terperinci bagaimana virus ini berkembang, bagaimana ia tersebar dan apa yang kerajaan lakukan untuk menanganinya.”

Muhyiddin perlu menjelaskan mengapa kerajaan masih berlengah untuk mengadakan persidangan khas Parlimen, meskipun menerusi saluran maya, bagi membahaskan mengenai pandemik Covid-19.

(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP, Lim Kit Siang pada Isnin, 6 April 2020)

=====================================

The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) statement yesterday calling on Putrajaya to ensure that workers’ interests are protected as part of a pivotal condition for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to obtain government assistance raises the question why the government is so slow and tardy in presenting  a comprehensive package to rescue SMEs in the Covid-19 pandemic economics when compared to  other countries like United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Australia  and Singapore?

It could be argued that in these extraordinary times of the Covid-19 pandemic when there is a virtual lock-down of economic activities, the failure to quickly and nimbly address medical and economic problems is a form of irresponsibility and negligence, which is why there is talk of impeachment proceedings against the US President Donald Trump for his mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis in his country.

The United Kingdom  government has already presented three economic stimulus packages since March 11, with the government announcing:

· on March 11 a specific Covid-19 fiscal stimulus totaling £30 billion, including welfare and business support, sick-pay changes and local assistance; including  £7 billion for businesses and families and £5bn for the National Health Service (NHS);

· on March 17, measures which included a £330 billion – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP –  in business loan guarantees and £20 billion of business rates support and grant funding to help the most-affected firms manage their cash-flow through this period, such as retail and hotel businesses;

· on March 20, £78 billion  measures which included a program to issue grants to companies covering up to 80% of worker’s salaries if companies keep them on payrolls rather than lay them off (up to £2,500 per month per person); and increase in safety net tax credits for people who are out of work by £1,000  a year, to help more than four million vulnerable households across the country, in a package worth £7 billion.

DAP Member of Parliament and former Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry, Dr. Ong Kian Meng has listed ten examples of Malaysian SMEs crying for help.

I call on the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, to stop procrastination in announcing an economic rescue package focussing on the  SMEs.

The Prime Minister should use the opportunity of the new package to be more sensitive of the crisis the MCO has created to vulnerable groups, especially those who become unemployed when they stay at home.

The Covid-19 pandemic is not just a health crisis – it is an existential economic crisis and policy makers must adjust  their  approach on a daily basis as the increasing severity of the health pandemic and damage to the economy unfolds.

The Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said on Saturday that help for SMEs is on the way.

Tengku Zafrul and other policy-makers in government should be motivated by the “Act Fast and Do Whatever It Takes” spirit to address the economic problems created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is why Malaysia must learn from the best practices – both public health and economic – of other countries in combating the invisible global war of the Covid-19 pandemic, so that Malaysia can avoid the nightmares of other countries.

We should not be in the position like Italy, Spain and France, let alone United Kingdom and United States where Covid-19 pandemic is raging on and yet to reach their peak.

In Spain, there is relief in the country that its death toll in the past 24 hours had only risen by 674 to 12,418 because it is recorded the lowest number of fatalities in in nine days!

In Italy, the  lowest daily COVID-19 death toll of 525 deaths for more than two weeks was registered on  Sunday allowing the Italian  authorities to start looking ahead to a second phase of the battle against the new coronavirus once the lock-down imposed almost a month ago is eventually eased.

Italy, Spain and France may have reached a plateau in their Covid-19 epidemiological curves, which would begin to descend, although this is subject to confirmation in the next few days.

But the situation in the United Kingdom and the United States are quite different, as the Covid-19 pandemic is raging with exponential growth in these two countries.

On the one hand, the British Prime Minister,  Boris Johnson had been admitted to hospital for tests, ten days after testing positive for Covid-19 and on the other, the United States Surgeon General Jerome Adam had warned that next week was going to be the “Pearl Harbour” moment –
“the hardest moment for many Americans in their entire lives”.

In the Pearl Harbour attacks,  2,403 Americans died. So far almost four times that many lives have been lost to the virus – with the total death toll in the United States standing on  9,557, which increased by 1,106 deaths in the last 24 hours.

Malaysia must act fast and do “whatever it takes” to first win the war against Covid-19 and subsequently to win the war to restore the devastated economy, but we must follow developments of the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide as the global economy is also devastated.

The global total of Covid-19 cases have  reached 1,272,737 cases while  the  global total of Covid-19 deaths have reached 69,491 cases.

Data for  the  top 12 countries with most number of Covid-19 cases (which also contain the 12 top countries for Covid-19 deaths) and Malaysia are as follows:

United States: 334,232 cases;   9,557 deaths (2.86%)

Spain: 131,646 cases; 12,641 deaths (9.6%)

Italy: 128,948 cases;  15,887 deaths (12.3%)

Germany: 100,123 cases; 1,584 deaths (1.58%)

France: 92,839 cases; 8,078 deaths (8.7%)

China: 81,669 cases; 3,329 deaths (4.07%)

Iran: 58,226 cases; 3,603 deaths (6.2%)

UK: 47,806 cases; 4,934 deaths (10.3%)

Turkey: 27,069 cases; 574 deaths (2.1%)

Switzerland: 21,100 cases; 715 deaths (3.4%)

Belgium: 19,691 cases; 1,447 deaths (7.35%)

Netherlands: 17,851 cases; 1,766 deaths (9.9%)

Malaysia: 3,662 cases; 61 deaths (1.66%)

The government must always bear in mind the lesson of South Korea’s success in the war against Covid-19.

As the South Korean Foreign Minister, Kang Kyung-wha has explained it, vitally important is that the government must be open and secure the trust of the people.

As Kang had explained:

“The key to our success has been absolute transparency with the public – sharing every detail of how this virus is evolving, how it is spreading and what the government is doing about it, warts and all.”

Muhyiddin should explain why the government is holding back from holding an emergency meeting of Parliament, even a virtual one, to debate the Covid-16 pandemic.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on Monday, 6th April 2020)

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PM Muhyiddin should initiate extensive consultations with different Malaysian stakeholders on the exit strategy Malaysia should adopt as this is uncharted territory not only  for Malaysia but for the world

Muhyiddin perlu memulakan rundingan dengan pihak berkepentingan berhubung strategi jalan keluar yang perlu diambil oleh negara, kerana ini merupakan situasi yang amat luar biasa bukan sahaja buat Malaysia, malah seluruh dunia

Ketika pandemik Covid-19 masih terus tersebar dengan meluas di seluruh dunia, merekodkan 1,339,214 kes dan mencatatkan 74,371 kematian dengan Amerika Syarikat dan United Kingdom menjadi pusat pandemik baharu terburuk, muncul sinar harapan buat Malaysia yang kini sudah melepasi puncak gelombang kedua penularan Covid-19 dan justeru itu sudah tiba masanya untuk kita sama-sama memikirkan strategi jalan keluar untuk perintah kawalan pergerakan (PKP).

Sebenarnya, di Eropah misalnya, negara-negara seperti Itali, Sepanyol dan Perancis yang dilihat paling terjejas teruk akibat virus tersebut kini mula menampakkan tanda-tanda semakin pulih.

Angka kematian di Sepanyol semakin menurun untuk hari keempat berturut-turut, Itali pula mencatatkan angka kematian terendah dalam tempoh dua minggu sementara Perancis mencatatkan penurunan jumlah kes positif Covid-19 — berita-berita baik ini memberikan sinar harapan kepada seluruh warga Eropah tentang keberkesanan penguatkuasaan perintah berkurung.

Sejak tengah hari semalam, terdapat 3,793 kes Covid-19 dicatatkan di Malaysia, dengan 131 kes baharu dan 62 kematian direkodkan.

Kira-kira tiga minggu lalu, pada 19 Mac, Menteri Kesihatan, Dr Adham Baba dalam satu rancangan Berita Perdana RTM1 — di mana beliau mengatakan “air suam boleh membunuh koronavirus”, — berkata sudah terdapat tanda-tanda statistik kes jangkitan Covid-19 di Malaysia sudah mula menunjukkan keluk mendatar. Namun kenyataan Adham itu ternyata indah khabar dari rupa.

Adham secara jelas merujuk 15 Mac sebagai puncak penularan Covid-19 yang menyaksikan peningkatan 180 kes. Namun, dalam tempoh tiga minggu selepas itu, tidak terdapat tanda-tanda keluk semakin mendatar, berikutan berlaku peningkatan jumlah kes Covid-19 pada 23 Mac iaitu sebanyak 212 kes sementara 235 kes lagi pada 26 Mac, 208 kes pada 2 April dan 217 kes pada 3 April.

Meskipun kes positif Covid-19 kini sudah meningkat hampir lima kali ganda sejak 18 Mac (tarikh pelaksanaan PKP) puncak gelombang kedua penularan Covid-19 sebenarnya bermula pada 3 April, yang menyaksikan jumlah kes positif Covid-19 mencecah 3,333 kes selepas mengalami peningkatan kes harian sebanyak 217 kes.

Dalam tempoh tiga hari yang lalu, terdapat keluk mendatar dalam peningkatan kes, dengan kes baharu dicatatkan berjumlah 150, 179 dan 131 untuk ketiga-ketiga hari tersebut.

Jika prognosis ini tepat, maka pelaksanaan PKP dan lanjutannya terbukti berkesan kerana ternyata unjuran JP Morgan bahawa Malaysia akan mencapai puncak jangkitan pertengahan April dengan 6,300 kes adalah salah, memandangkan puncaknya dicapai pada 3 April dengan 3,333 kes.

PKP ternyata efektif dalam membendung penyebaran Covid-19.

Saya menggesa Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin untuk memulakan rundingan secara meluas dengan pihak berkepentingan berhubung strategi jalan keluar yang perlu diambil Malaysia kerana ini merupakan situasi yang amat luar biasa bukan sahaja buat Malaysia, malah seluruh dunia

Tidak mustahil pandemik Covid-19 akan muncul semula seperti sewaktu awal-awal virus berkenaan mula merebak, kecuali jika vaksin Covid-19 dapat dibangunkan secepat mungkin — meskipun terdapat pakar-pakar vaksin yang mengatakan penghasilan vaksin tersebut memerlukan tempoh lebih 18 bulan.

Jawapan kepada persoalan “bilakah tempoh berkurung akan berakhir” bergantung kepada persoalan-persoalan yang masih belum terjawab berhubung virus berkenaan, sebagai contoh, adakah seseorang yang pernah dijangkiti virus ini berisiko untuk dijangkiti semula dan seberapa cepat saintis-saintis dunia dapat menghasilkan vaksin. Kos dan faedah daripada lanjutan perintah berkurung dan kemampuan negara-negara lain menghadapinya, baik dari segi ekonomi atau sudut pandang politik, merupakan antara faktor-faktor yang juga memainkan peranan dalam situasi ini.

Terdapat satu konsensus yang mengatakan pandemik ini hanya akan berakhir dengan wujudnya imuniti kelompok (herd immunity), yang melindungi seluruh komuniti daripada patogen, iaitu ejen yang menyebabkan penyakit disebabkan oleh virus atau kuman tertentu.

Terdapat dua cara untuk mencapai matlamat ini.

Pertama, imunisasi. Saintis perlu membangunkan vaksin yang dijamin selamat serta efektif bagi melawan coronavirus, dan pihak kesihatan perlu memberikan vaksin tersebut kepada pesakit.

Kedua, adalah mewujudkan imuniti kelompok yang lebih ngeri sifatnya: Ia akan berfungsi selepas sebahagian besar komuniti telah dijangkiti dan membina ketahanan diri daripada serangan patogen ini pada masa akan datang.

Kebanyakan negara menggunakan strategi perintah berkurung bagi membendung penularan virus, menutup perniagaan dan sekolah, mengharamkan perhimpunan ramai dan memaksa semua rakyatnya untuk tinggal di rumah.

Ia adalah untuk mengelakkan terjadinya peningkatan jangkitan yang akan menambah beban kepada sistem kesihatan, sekali gus menyebabkan kematian ekoran rawatan terpaksa dicatu. Strategi meratakan lengkungan dapat mengawal peningkatan kes dan petugas kesihatan mempunyai masa yang mencukupi untuk menggerakkan sumber bagi meningkatkan kapasiti ujian dan saringan, mengesan kontak rapat individu yang disahkan positif Covid-19, dan merawat pesakit, dengan memperluaskan kemudahan hospital, termasuk pembekalan alat bantuan pernafasan (ventilator) dan menyediakan unit rawatan rapi.

Menamatkan sekatan pergerakan terlalu awal berisiko mengundang peningkatkan kes baharu. Menerusi “strategi jalan keluar”, pakar kesihatan menyeru pelaksanaan peringkat perantaraan di mana sekolah dan perniagaan dibenarkan untuk beroperasi tetapi perhimpunan ramai masih perlu dihadkan.

Orang ramai masih perlu digalakkan untuk mengamalkan penjarakkan sosial, dan mereka yang berisiko tinggi dijangkiti virus disarankan supaya mengurangkan aktiviti di luar. Jika kes kembali meningkat, sekatan akan diperketatkan.

Ujian saringan secara meluas penting kerana wabak Covid-19, yang menyebabkan huru-hara ini bukan sahaja kerana ia boleh membawa maut, tetapi juga tersembunyi dan amat berbahaya, dengan kebanyakan daripada mereka yang dijangkiti virus tersebut nampak seakan-seakan sihat, dan secara tidak sedar menyebarkan virus itu kepada orang lain.

Itu sebabnya penting untuk melakukan ujian secara besar-besaran, dan melakukan ujian ke atas setiap orang yang menunjukkan tanda-tanda dan simptom. Dengan cara itu, mereka yang dijangkiti boleh diletakkan dalam pengasingan dan mereka yang mempunyai kontrak rapat boleh dikesan, diuji dan jika perlu, diletakkan dalam pengasingan, bagi mengurangkan penyebaran virus.

Pihak berkepentingan di Malaysia harus memainkan peranannya dalam merangka strategi jalan keluar ini. Siapa tahu kita mampu membina sebuah model yang akan menjadi contoh yang terbaik kepada negara-negara lain dalam menangani penularan wabak.

Inilah sebabnya mengapa rakyat Malaysia perlu cakna dengan perkembangan Covid-19 di negara-negara lain.

Berikut merupakan data 12 negara yang mencatatkan kes jangkitan Covid-19 tertinggi di dunia (termasuk jumlah serta peratus kematian) termasuk Malaysia:

Amerika Syarikat 362,573 kes; 362,573 kematian (2.96%)

Sepanyol 136,675 kes; 13,341 kematian (9.76%)

Itali 132,547 kes; 16,523 kematian (12.5% )

Jerman 102,179 kes; 1,712 kematian (1.67%)

Perancis 98,010 kes; 8,911 kematian (9.1%)

China 81,708 kes; 3,331 kematian (4.07%)

Iran 60,500 kes; 3,739 kematian (6.2%)

UK 51,608 kes; 5,373 kematian (10.4%)

Turki 30,217 kes; 649 kematian (2.15%)

Switzerland 21,657 kes; 765 kematian (3.5%)

Belgium 20,814 kes; 1,632 kematian (7.8%)

Belanda 18,803 kes; 1,867 kematian (9.9%)

Malaysia 3,793 kes; 62 kematian (1.63%)

(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang pada Selasa, 7 April 2020)

================================

While the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage on globally, registering  1,339,214 cases with a total death score of 74,371, with the United States and United Kingdom as the worst epicentres of the outbreak, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel that Malaysia has passed the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak and we can begin to think about the exit strategy for the movement control order (MCO).

In fact, even in Europe, states like Italy, Spain and France which had been devastated by the novel coronavirus outbreak are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

With deaths in Spain declining for the fourth consecutive day, Italy reporting its lowest death toll in two weeks and France recording a decline in confirmed Covid-19 cases, there is tentative hope across Europe that lock-downs are starting to show results.

As of noon yesterday, there were 3,793 cases of Covid-19 in Malaysia, with 131 new infections, with a death toll of 62.

Some three weeks ago on March 19, the Health Minister, Dr. Adham Baba in his infamous “warm water can kill Covid-19 virus” RTM1 Berita Perdana programme, said that there were “already signs of a plateau” and the flattening of the curve. But this has proved to be a mere hallucination.

Adham was clearly referring to  March 15 as the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak which saw an increase of 190 cases, but in the following three weeks, there was no “plateau” nor flattening of the epidemiological curve, as daily increases of Covid-19 shot up by  212 cases on March 23, 235 cases  on March 26, 208 cases on April 2 and 217 cases  on April 3, with the total  confirmed Covid-19 cases on March 18 more than  doubling in six days on  March 24  and trebling in 10 days on March 28, when there were 2,320 Covid-19 cases.

Although confirmed Covid-19 cases have now almost quintupled (which would require 2,955 cases) from March 18, the date the Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed, it would appear that the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak had been  reached on  April 3, when the total Covid-19 cases reached  3,333 cases  after a  daily increase of 217 cases.

In the last three days, there is a plateau in the increase of cases and  the curve had been flattened, as the daily increases of Covid-19 cases in the last  three days were 150, 179 and 131 cases respectively.

If this prognosis is correct, then the MCO and its extension would have proven wrong JP Morgan’s forecast of a mid-April infection peak at around 6,300 cases as the  peak would have been reached on April 3 with 3,333 cases.

The MCO had been clearly effective in curbing the spread and mortality of Covid-19 cases.

I call on the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to initiate extensive consultations with different Malaysian stakeholders on the exit strategy Malaysia should  adopt, as this is an unchartered territory  not only for Malaysia but for the world.

Unless a vaccine for Covid-19 is developed – and there are vaccine specialists  who say that this will take more than 18 months – it will not be possible return to normalcy pre-Covid-19 pandemic.

The answer to the question “When will the Covid-19 lock-down end” depends in large part on uncertainties about the novel coronavirus that causes the disease, including whether a person can get it more than once and how quickly the world’s scientists might produce a vaccine. The cost and benefits of a prolonged shutdown and what different countries can afford, from both an economic and political standpoint, are factors, too.

There’s a consensus that the pandemic will only end with the establishment of so-called herd immunity, which occurs when enough people in a community are protected from a pathogen that it can’t take hold and dies out.

There are two paths to that outcome.

One is immunization. Researchers would have to develop a vaccine that proves safe and effective against the coronavirus, and health authorities would have to get it to a sufficient number of people.

The second path to herd immunity is grimmer: It can also come about after a large portion of a community has been infected with a pathogen and develops resistance to it that way.

For many countries, the strategy is to lock down movement to dramatically slow the spread, closing businesses and schools, banning gatherings and keeping people at home.

The idea is to prevent a huge burst of infections that overwhelms the medical system, causing excessive deaths as care is rationed. “Flattening the curve” staggers cases over a longer period of time and buys authorities and health-care providers time to mobilize – to build capacity for testing, for tracking down contacts of those who are infected, and for treating the sick, by expanding hospital facilities, including ventilators and intensive-care units.

Lifting restrictions too early risks inviting a new spike. In a model for “exit strategy”, health specialists calls for an intermediate stage in which schools and businesses would reopen but gatherings would still be limited.

People would continue to be encouraged to keep at a distance from one another, and those at high risk would be advised to limit their time in public. If cases begin to rise again, restrictions would be tightened.

Widespread availability of testing is important because of the Covid-19 virus, which  is wreaking so much havoc, not because it’s especially lethal, but because it’s insidious; many who are infected are well enough to go about their daily business, unwittingly spreading it to others.

That makes it vital to test for infection widely in the population, and to test everyone with symptoms. That way, those who are infectious can be put in isolation and everyone they’ve had close contact with while contagious can be tracked down, tested and if necessary isolated as well, limiting the spread in the community.

Malaysian stakeholders should play a full part on the exit strategy we should adopt. Who knows, we may develop a model which might  be emulated  by other countries as among the best in the new world of Covid-19 pandemic economics.

This is also why Malaysians must be aware of Covid-19 developments in other countries.

Latest data for the top 12 countries with most number of Covid-19 cases (which also contain the 12 top countries for Covid-19 deaths) and Malaysia are as follows:

United States: 362,573  cases; 10,720 deaths (2.96%)

Spain: 136,675 cases; 13,341 deaths (9.76%)

Italy: 132,547 cases; 16,523 deaths (12.5% )

Germany: 102,179 cases; 1,712 deaths (1.67%)

France: 98,010 cases; 8,911 deaths (9.1%)

China: 81,708 cases; 3,331 deaths (4.07%)

Iran: 60,500 cases; 3,739 deaths (6.2%)

UK: 51,608 cases; 5,373 deaths (10.4%)

Turkey: 30,217 cases; 649 deaths (2.15%)

Switzerland: 21,657 cases; 765 deaths (3.5%)

Belgium: 20,814  cases; 1,632 deaths (7.8%)

Netherlands: 18,803 cases; 1,867 deaths (9.9%)

Malaysia: 3,793 cases; 62 deaths (1.63%)

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on Tuesday, 7th April 2020)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 7 April 2020, 10:33 am and is filed under
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The division of the country into four coloured zones  for Covid-19 infections can be used as a basis for an exit strategy for controlled easing of restrictions, but the four-colour zones  should be updated daily so as not to overstate the seriousness of Covid-19 infection  in the various parts of  the country

Pembahagian kawasan kepada empat zon berwarna mengikut kadar jangkitan Covid-19 boleh digunakan sebagai asas kepada strategi pelonggaran perintah kawalan pergerakan, tetapi zon empat warna ini haruslah dikemaskini setiap hari untuk tidak melebih nyata keseriusan jangkitan Covid-19 di pelbagai kawasan dalam negara

Hari ini adalah hari yang istimewa sepanjang penularan wabak Covid-19 yang sedang merebak pantas di seluruh dunia dengan 1.4 juta kes yang disahkan dan 81,695 kematian.

Wabak ini bermula di Wuhan, China pada awal Disember lepas dan diumumkan sebagai pandemik oleh Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia pada 11 Mac 2020.

Ia telah menjangkiti 209 negara dan kawasan, dan dalam tiga bulan yang lepas telah melepasi satu demi satu rekod yang buruk dalam peperangannya melawan umat manusia.

Sebagai contoh, virus ini mengambil 67 hari untuk mencapai 100,000 kes yang pertama, 11 hari untuk mencapai 100,000 kes kedua, empat hari untuk mencapai 100,000 kes ketiga, tiga hari untuk mencapai 100,000 kes keempat, dua hari untuk mencapai 100,000 kes kelima, sehari untuk mencapai 100,000 kes keenam, dua hari untuk mencapai 100,000 kes ketujuh, dan sehari untuk mencapai setiap 100,000 kes kelapan dan kesembilan (sejumlah sejuta kes). Virus ini kemudiannya mengambil masa dua hari untuk mencapai 100,000 kes kesepuluh dan sehari untuk mencapai setiap 100,000 kes ke-sebelas, kedua belas, dan ketiga belas. Jumlah keseluruhan kes yang disahkan di peringkat dunia adalah 1,421,665 kes!

Walaupun wabak ini bermula di Asia, Amerika Utara akan tidak lama lagi melepasi negara-negara Eropah seperti Itali, Sepanyol, dan Perancis yang telah menghadapi mimpi ngeri dengan peningkatan harian daripada seribu hingga ke lebih daripada sembilan ribu kes sehari dan dengan kadar kematian harian yang meningkat daripada tiga ke empat angka. Kerosakan wabak ini kini sedang menghala ke arah United Kingdom (di mana Perdana Menteri UK Boris Johnson kini ditempatkan di unit rawatan rapi) dan Amerika Syarikat, di mana Presidennya kini bercakap mengenai jumlah kematian sehingga 100,000 ke 200,000 orang sedangkan dua minggu yang lepas beliau merancang untuk “membuka semula” ekonomi AS pada hari Ahad Easter 12 April.

Data terkini 12 negara dengan jumlah kes Covid-19 tertinggi (yang juga mengandungi 12 negara dengan jumlah kematian tertinggi) dan Malaysia adalah seperti berikut:

Negara

Bil Kes

Bil Kematian

AS

393,798

12,697 (3.2%)

Sepanyol

140,618

13,912 (9.89%)

Itali

135,586

17,127 (12.6%)

Perancis

109,069

10,328 (9.47%)

Jerman

107,591

2,012 (1.87%)

China

81,740

3,331 (4.07%)

Iran

62,589

3,872 (6.2%)

UK

55,242

6,159 (12.15%)

Turki

34,109

725 (2.1%)

Switzerland

22,253

821 (3.7%)

Belgium

22,194

2,035 (9.2%)

Belanda

19,580

2,101 (10.7%)

Malaysia

3,963

63 (1.59%)

Pembukaan bandar Wuhan hari ini menjadi bukti kepada ketahanan, tekad, dan solidariti kemanusiaan dalam memenangi peperangan melawan wabak Covid-19 ini.

Perkara ini menjadi pengajaran bukan sahaja untuk rakyat Malaysia tetapi kepada seluruh dunia yang peperangan ini boleh dimenangi.

Data terkini penularan Covid-19 memberikan semangat kepada optimisme berhati-hati saya sebelum ini bahawa kita telah melepasi puncak gelombang kedua wabak ini. Tetapi kita harus bersedia untuk kedatangan semula virus ini pada bila-bila masa sahaja, sehinggalah virus untuk virus ini diciptakan dalam tempoh 12 ke 18 bulan.

Sekarang adalah waktunya untuk mempertimbangkan dan membincangkan strategi keluar daripada perintah kawalan pergerakan oleh semua pihak, memandangkan Covid-19 ini bukan sahaja menjadi bencana kesihatan awam tetapi juga bencana terhadap sistem ekonomi negara yang disebabkan oleh penghentian aktiviti perniagaan dalam negara bagi menyelamatkan nyawa dalam melawan virus ini.

Kerana ini jugalah satu persidangan khas parlimen, biarpun secara “maya”, sangat penting dan patut menjadi keutamaan buat masa ini.

Apakah strategi keluar yang berpatutan?

Tidak ada jawapan bagi persoalan ini memandangkan ini adalah kali pertama seluruh dunia menghadapi masalah ini.

Pelbagai negara di sekitar dunia menggunakan berbagai strategi kawalan pergerakan dan tidak satu cara yang boleh dilaksanakan oleh semua negara tanpa pengubahsuaian.

Malaysia perlu membangunkan strateginya sendiri, yang haruslah memenuhi tujuan pembendungan wabak Covid-19 sehingga adanya vaksin untuk virus ini bagi membolehkan enjin ekonomi negara dimulakan semula dan bagi membolehkan kehidupan untuk pulang kepada keadaan normal semula.

Pembahagian kawasan kepada empat zon berwarna oleh Majlis Keselamatan Negara dan Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia mengikut kadar jangkitan Covid-19 boleh digunakan sebagai asas kepada perumusan strategi keluar negara kita bagi melonggarkan perintah kawalan pergerakan sedia ada. Tetapi zon-zon ini haruslah dikemaskini setiap hari untuk mengelakkan penyataan berlebihan keseriusan wabak ini di bahagian-bahagian dalam negara.

Zon merah merujuk kepada kawasan dengan lebih daripada 40 kes positif, zon oren pula untuk kawasan dengan 21 hingga 40 kes positif, zon kuning untuk kawasan dengan satu hingga 20 kes positif, dan zon hijau untuk kawasan dengan sifar kes positif Covid-19.

Infografik terkini kawasan-kawasan dalam negara menunjukkan Pulau Pinang sebagai mempunyai lima daerah, dua di dalam zon oren dan tiga di dalam zon kuning.

Jika perkembangan terkini Covid-19 diambil kira, sebagai contoh, jumlah pemulihan dan discaj pesakit daripada hospital, kesemua lima daerah di Pulau Pinang akan termasuk dalam zon kuning — malah daerah Seberang Perai Selatan akan menjadi hampir kepada zon hijau dengan hanya satu kes aktif Covid-19.

Dalam ekonomi pandemik pasca-PKP, Malaysia harus merumuskan satu strategi keluar yang boleh mencapai keseimbangan di antara pembendungan wabak Covid-19 sehingga vaksin ditemui dan pelonjakan semula ekonomi negara dan pengembalian kehidupan rakyat kepada situasi normal.

(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang pada hari Rabu 8 April 2020)

===================================

Today is a special day in the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, which has spread like a raging fire worldwide, with confirmed infections totalling  1.4 million cases  and has claimed the lives of some 81,695 people.

Covid-19 started in Wuhan, China in early December and it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on March 11, 2020.

It has affected 209 countries and territories, and in the last three months, has reached one grim milestone after another in the invisible global war against humanity

For example, it took 67 days from the first reported case to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for second 100,000 cases, four days for the third 100,000 cases, three days for the fourth 100,000 cases, two days for the fifth 100,000 cases, one day for the sixth 100,000, two days for the seventh 100,000, a day each for the eighth and ninth (million) 100,000 cases. It takes two  day to reach the tenth 100,000 cases, one day each  to reach the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth 100,000 cases.  Total global confirmed cases now stand at 1,421,665!

Although the Covid-19 pandemic started in Asia, North America will overtake Europe in the number of cases in a matter days  Both  regions have exceeded 400,000 cases each, while Asia has  chalked less than 125,000 cases, with China totalling 81,7490 cases.

The Covid-19 pandemic seems to be stabilising in the three European countries of Italy, Spain, France  which had  experienced nightmares with daily Covid-19 cases increasing from more than a thousand cases to over nine thousand cases and daily Covid-19 deaths increasing from three to four-digit figures. The  full  ravages of Covid-19 have moved on to the United Kingdom, (whose Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in  ICU over  Covid-19) and the United States, whose President is talking about 100,000 to 200,000 deaths from the pandemic, although two weeks ago he  was talking about America getting back to business and returning to normal  by Easter on April 12.

Latest data for the top 12 countries with most number of Covid-19 cases (which also contain the 12 top countries for Covid-19 deaths) and Malaysia is as follows:

Country

No of Case

No of Deaths

United States

393,798

12,697 (3.2%)

Spain

140,618

13,912 (9.89%)

Italy

35,586

17,127 (12.6%)

France

109,069

10,328 (9.47%)

Germany

107,591

2,012 (1.87%)

China

81,740

3,331 (4.07%)

Iran

62,589

3,872 (6.2%)

UK

55,242

6,159 (12.15%)

Turkey

34,109

725 (2.1%)

Switzerland

22,253

821 (3.7%)

Belgium

22,194

2,035 (9.2%)

Netherlands

19,580

2,101 (10.7%)

Malaysia

3,963

63 (1.59%)

Today’s opening of Wuhan is a testimony of mankind’s grit, determination and solidarity to win the invisible global war against the novel coronavirus.

It is a lesson not only for  Malaysians but to the world that the invisible global war against  the novel coronavirus can be won.

The latest data on the Covid-19 in Malaysia gives encouragement to my cautious optimism that we have passed the  peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak although we must be prepared for a resurgence of the virus until a vaccine in 12 – 18 months’ time or more.

This is the time that an exit strategy from the partial lock-down resulting from  the  movement control order (MCO) should be considered and discussed by all quarters, as the Covid- 19 pandemic is not just a health crisis but also an economic crisis with the lock-down shutting down  the economic engine to give priority to save lives in the war against  the virus.

This is also why an emergency meeting of Parliament, even a “virtual” one, is so urgent, imperative  and should deserve first order of priority.

What is the proper exit strategy?

There is no proper answer as mankind all over the world is grappling with the problem for the first time.

Different countries have different variations for Covid-19  lock-downs, and there can be no one answer for the various shades of lock-downs in the different countries.

Malaysia must develop its own exit strategy, which must meet the purpose of ensuring that the Covid 19 virus, though not eliminated until the development of an vaccine, is sufficiently contained to allow the economic engine to restart and for  lives to return to as much normalcy as possible.

The division of the country  by the National  Security Council and the Ministry of Health into four coloured zones  for Covid-19 infections can be used as a basis for an exit strategy for controlled easing of restriction of movement, but the four-coloured zones should be updated daily so as not to overstate the seriousness of Covid-19 infection  in various parts of  the country

The red zone refers to areas with more than 40 positive cases; the orange zone  for areas with 21 to 40 positive cases; the yellow zone for areas with one to 20 positive cases and the green zone is without any positive case.

The latest info graphics on the division in the country into the four coloured zones shows Penang as having five districts – two in orange zone and three in yellow zone.

If recent  Covid-19 developments had been taken into account, for instance the recoveries from the Covid-19 infection  and discharge  from  hospitals, all the five districts in Penang would be in the yellow zone – in fact, the Seberang Perai Selatan district will be close to become a green zone with only one case of Covid-19 infection.

In the post-MCO pandemic economics, Malaysia must develop an exit strategy which can strike the proper balance on the one hand, to contain but not to eradicate the Covid-19 virus until a vaccine is developed in 12 – 18 months or longer and  on the other, to restart the economic engine and for Malaysian life to return to as much normalcy pre-MCO  as possible.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on Wednesday, 8th April 2020)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 8 April 2020, 9:14 am and is filed under
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Data terkini wabak Covid-19 adalah satu sebab untuk pelonggaran PKP secara bersyarat bagi menangani sebarang kenaikan semula kadar jangkitan

Data terkini wabak Covid-19 adalah satu sebab untuk pelonggaran PKP secara bersyarat bagi menangani sebarang kenaikan semula kadar jangkitan

Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah semalam mengumumkan yang kes Covid-19 telah mencapai 4,119 kes dengan peningkatan sebanyak 156 kes baharu.

Terdapat juga dua kematian baharu, membawa jumlah kematian kepada 65.

Buat kali kedua, jumlah pesakit yang pulih telah melebihi jumlah peningkatan jumlah kes positif — dengan peningkatan harian 166 orang pesakit yang disahkan pulih daripada jangkitan ini, membawa jumlah keseluruhan pesakit pulih kepada 1,487 kes ataupun hampir 36.1% jumlah keseluruhan kes.

Bagi mereka yang sedang menjalani rawatan pula, 76 pesakit kini berada di unit rawatan rapi, jumlah ini berkurang daripada 92 orang pada hari sebelumnya.

Daripada mereka yang berada di ICU pula, 45 memerlukan alat bantuan pernafasan, penurunan daripada 50 orang pada hari sebelum ini.

Dr Noor Hisham telah membuat satu penyataan yang agak menarik apabila beliau berkata: “Walaupun kita belum memenangi peperangan ini, kita juga belum kalah.”

Tidak ada negara yang boleh memenangi peperangan melawan virus ini, sehinggalah satu vaksin yang berkesan melawannya dibangunkan dalam tempoh 12 ke 18 bulan yang akan datang, ataupun mungkin dalam tempoh yang lebih lama lagi.

Sementara menunggu vaksin ini, cabaran berkembar yang dihadapi oleh semua negara adalah untuk memenangi peperangan melawan wabak ini dengan setiap gelombang baharu kes positif dengan kehilangan nyawa yang minima dan untuk memenangi peperangan ekonomi pandemik dengan kerosakan minima kepada ekonomi negara.

Lonjakan semasa kes Covid-19, telah menyebabkan perintah kawalan pergerakan (PKP) dikuat kuasakan pada 18 Mac, yang bertujuan untuk menangani senario terburuk gelombang kedua Covid-19 dengan kemuncak 6,300 jangkitan (jangkaan JP Morgan) menjelang pertengahan April ataupun jangkaan Institut Kajian Ekonomi Malaysia (MIER) yang menjangkakan sehingga 8,900 kes positif.

Daripada data kes Covid-19, kita dapat lihat yang gelombang kedua ini memuncak pada 3 April dengan 3,333 kes (peningkatan harian sebanyak 217 kes) dan sejak daripada tarikh ini, jumlah peningkatan jangkitan harian kini semakin perlahan kepada peningkatan harian sekitar 150 ke 179 kes sehari.

Data untuk kes Covid-19 sejak daripada pelaksanaan PKP adalah seperti berikut:

Jadual 1: Jumlah kes Covid-19 sejak pelaksaan PKP

Tarikh

Jumlah Kes Terkumpul

Jumlah kes baru harian

Jumlah Kematian Terkumpul

Jumlah Pesakit Pulih Terkumpul

18/03

790

+117

3

11

19/03

900

+110

4

15

20/03

1,030

+130

5

12

21/03

1,183

+153

8

27

22/03

1,306

+123

10

25

23/03

1,518

+212

14

20

24/03

1,624

+106

15

24

25/03

1,796

+172

19

16

26/03

2,031

+235

23

16

27/03

2,161

+130

26

44

28/03

2,320

+159

27

61

29/03

2,470

+150

34

68

30/03

2,626

+156

37

91

31/03

2,766

+140

43

58

01/04

2,908

+142

45

108

02/04

3,116

+208

50

122

03/04

3,333

+217

53

60

04/04

3,483

+150

57

88

05/04

3,662

+179

61

90

06/04

3,793

+131

62

236

07/04

3,963

+170

63

80

08/04

4,119

+156

65

166

Dengan kadar jangkitan baharu harian di bawah paras 200 sepanjang lima hari yang lepas, PKP yang dilaksanakan pada 18 Mac dan kemudiannya dilanjutkan daripada 1 April ke 14 April ini telah berjaya dalam mengekang penyebaran wabak ini.

Jika kita mahu mengekalkan lengkungan epidomeologi ini, cadangan pelonggaran PKP secara bersyarat untuk menangani sebarang peningkatan kes baharu menjadi satu cadangan yang menarik.

Tidak ada strategi keluar yang sesuai untuk dipakai oleh semua negara kerana setiap negara mengamalkan perintah berkurung yang berbeza-beza.

Tetapi satu perkara yang pasti adalah, sehingga vaksin Covid-19 ini sedia, yang mungkin memakan masa di antara 12 hingga 18 bulan ataupun lebih lama lagi, kehidupan kita tidak akan kembali seperti biasa dan kita harus menerima norma baharu di mana pembatasan sosial menjadi amalan harian, mencuci tangan dengan kerap menjadi amalan harian, tidak ada lagi perhimpunan awam besar-besaran, penyaringan semua pelawat daripada luar negara, peningkatan kadar saringan, penggunaan teknologi untuk mengenalpasti kontak rapat dan lain-lain perkara lagi.

Malaysia harus membangunkan strategi keluarnya sendiri, yang harus memenuhi hala tuju untuk membendung penularan virus ini sementara menunggu kewujudan vaksin dan pada masa yang sama membenarkan pergerakan semula enjin ekonomi negara dan membolehkan rakyat untuk kembali menjalani kehidupan mereka, ‘senormal’ yang boleh.

Jika pembahagian kawasan dalam negara kepada empat zon berwarna mengikut kadar jangkitan dijadikan sebagai asas kepada strategi keluar kita untuk melonggarkan PKP, Majlis Keselamatan Negara dan Kementerian Kesihatan perlu mengumumkan status terkini harian untuk setiap kawasan dan bukan sahaja mengumumkan jumlah terkumpul untuk kawasan tersebut seperti yang dilakukan sekarang.

Setakat ini, 23 daerah telah diisytiharkan sebagai zon merah dengan lebih daripada 41 kes, tetapi angka ini berdasarkan data yang lama kerana ia dikira daripada segi jumlah kes terkumpul tanpa mengambil kira jumlah kes yang telah pulih. Jika kita mengambil kira jumlah kes yang telah pulih, kita akan mempunyai lebih sedikit zon merah dalam negara.

Malaysia telah mencapai kadar pemulihan yang lebih tinggi berbanding dengan kebanyakan negara Eropah, daripada sejumlah 4,119 kes sejak 25 Januari, terdapat 1,487 kes yang telah pulih, mencapai kadar pemulihan 36.1%.

Statistik terkini Covid-19 untuk 12 negara teratas di dunia dan Malaysia adalah seperti berikut:

Negara

Jumlah Kes

Jumlah Kematian

Jumlah Kes Sembuh

AS

425,769

14,604 (3.4%)

22,202 (5.2%)

Sepanyol

148,220

14,792 (9.89%)

48,021 (32.4%)

Itali

139,422

17,669 (12.6%)

26,491 (19%)

Perancis

112,950

10,869 (9.6%)

21,254 (18.8%)

Jerman

112,113

2,208 (1.97%)

36,081 (32.2%)

China

81,802

3,333 (4.07%)

77,279 (94.5%)

Iran

64,586

3,993 (6.2%)

29,812 (46.1%)

UK

60,733

7,097 (11.7%)

135 (0.2%)

Turki

38,226

812 (2.1%)

1,846 (4.8%)

Belgium

23,403

2,240 (9.6%)

4,681 (20%)

Switzerland

23,280

895 (3.8%)

9,800 (42%)

Belanda

20,549

2,248 (10.9%)

250 (1.2%)

Malaysia

4,119

65 (1.58%)

2,567 (36.1%)

Di dalam era pasca-PKP di mana Covid-19 ini cuma boleh dihapuskan selepas vaksin dicipta yang akan mengambil masa antara 12 ke 18 bulan ataupun lebih lama lagi, negara kita boleh dibahagikan kepada empat zon berwarna ini, dengan zon hijau dan kuning tidak diletakkan sebarang sekatan, tetapi zon oren dan merah dikekalkan di bawah sekatan pergerakan perjalanan untuk menyelamatkan nyawa dan sistem ekonomi negara.

[
Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang pada hari Khamis 9 April 2020
]

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2020/04/09/the-latest-data-on-covid-19-pandemic-is-a-case-for-lifting-of-moc-although-with-conditions-to-deal-with-any-resurgence-of-the-virus-infection/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 9 April 2020, 2:13 pm and is filed under
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The latest data on Covid-19 pandemic is a case for lifting of MOC although with conditions to deal with any resurgence of the virus infection

The latest data on Covid-19 pandemic is a case for lifting of the movement control order (MCO) although with conditions to deal with any resurgence of the virus infection.

Health Director-General, Datuk Seri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah yesterday announced that the total number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia had reached  4,119 with an increase of 156 new cases.

There were two new deaths, bringing the death toll to 65.

The number of recoveries has for the second time exceeded the number of new cases – with a daily increase of 166 people. bringing the total recoveries to 1,487 cases or 36.1 percent of total infections.

For those under treatment, 76 people are in the intensive care unit, down from 92 the previous day.

Of those in ICU, 45 are on ventilators, down from 50 the previous day.

But Noor Hisham made quite a cryptic remark when he said: “Although we have not won the war yet, neither have we lost the war.”

No country can win the war against the Covid-19 virus, until an effective vaccine against it is developed in 12 – 18 months’ time or longer.

Meanwhile, until an effective vaccine is available, the twin challenges for every country is to win the war against Covid-19 in every wave of resurgence with the minimum loss of lives and to win the war in pandemic economics with the minimum of devastation to the economy.

The current surge of Covid-19 cases, which caused the imposition of the movement control order (MCO) on March 18, was to address the worst-case scenario of the second wave of Covid-19 outbreak peaking in mid-April with 6,300 cases (forecast of JP Morgan) or the even grimmer forecast of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) of a higher peak figure of 8,900 cases.

From the data on the Covid-19 cases, it would appear that the peak of the second wave of Covid-19 outbreak in Malaysia was reached on April 3 with 3,333 cases (with the daily increase of 217 cases), and since then, the infection growth rate had slowed to a daily increase from 150 to 179 cases a day.

The data for the Covid-19 cases since the MCO is as follows:

Covid-19 cases since MCO

Date

Total cases

New cases (daily)

Total deaths

Discharged (daily)

18/03

790

+117

3

11

19/03

900

+110

4

15

20/03

1,030

+130

5

12

21/03

1,183

+153

8

27

22/03

1,306

+123

10

25

23/03

1,518

+212

14

20

24/03

1,624

+106

15

24

25/03

1,796

+172

19

16

26/03

2,031

+235

23

16

27/03

2,161

+130

26

44

28/03

2,320

+159

27

61

29/03

2,470

+150

34

68

30/03

2,626

+156

37

91

31/03

2,766

+140

43

58

01/04

2,908

+142

45

108

02/04

3,116

+208

50

122

03/04

3,333

+217

53

60

04/04

3,483

+150

57

88

05/04

3,662

+179

61

90

06/04

3,793

+131

62

236

07/04

3,963

+170

63

80

08/04

4,119

+156

65

166

With the daily infection falling below the 200 figure in the last five days, the MCO imposed on 18th March and extended from April 1 to 14 had been successful in both curbing the spread and mortality of Covid-19.

If this epidemiological curve is sustained, the case for the lifting of the MCO though with conditions to deal with any resurgence of the novel coronavirus, will be irresistible.

There is no proper answer as to what is the best exit strategy for a full or partial lockdown as different countries impose varying variations for their Covid-19 lockdowns.

 But one thing is certain. Until an effective vaccine against Covid-19 is developed in 12 to 18 months’ time or longer, life can never be the same again, and a new norm must be observed which includes social distancing as a long-term life style, cleaning hands and surfaces as a new norm, no big public gatherings, screening of all travellers into the country, ramping up of mass testing capability, use of technology to trace contacts, etc.;

Malaysia must develop its own exit strategy, which must meet the purpose of ensuring that the Covid 19 virus, though not eliminated until the development of an vaccine, is sufficiently contained to allow the economic engine to restart and for lives to return to as much normalcy as possible.

If the division of the country into four coloured zones for Covid-19 infections is used as a basis for an exit strategy for controlled easing of restriction of movement, the National Security Council and the Ministry of Health should issue a daily release of the current status of each district, and not just the cumulative figures for infections in each district as is the present practice.

So far, 23 districts have been declared as red zones or Covid-19 hotspots with at least 41 cases, but these are based on outdated data as they use cumulative Covid-19 figures without taking into consideration recovered cases. If recovered cases are taken into account we should have far fewer red zones in the country.

Malaysia has achieved a high rate of recoveries which is better than most European countries, as out of a total 4,119 Covid-19 confirmed cases in Malaysia since January 25, there had been 1,487 recoveries, achieving a recovery rate of 36.1%.

The latest data on Covid-19 for the top 12 countries with the most number of Covid-19 cases (which also contain the 12 top countries for Covid-19 deaths) and Malaysia are as follows:

Country

Total

Total Deaths

Total Recovered

United States

425,769

14,604 (3.4%)

22,202 (5.2%)

Spain

148,220

14,792 (9.89%)

48,021 (32.4%)

Italy

139,422

17,669 (12.6% )

26,491 (19%)

France

112,950

10,869 (9.6%)

21,254 (18.8%)

Germany

112,113

2,208 (1.97%)

36,081 (32.2%)

China

81,802

3,333 (4.07%)

77,279 (94.5%)

Iran

64,586

3,993 (6.2%)

29,812 (46.1%)

UK

60,733

7,097 (11.7%)

135 (0.2%)

Turkey

38,226

812 (2.1%)

1,846 (4.8%)

Belgium

23,403

2,240 (9.6%)

4,681 (20%)

Switzerland

23,280

895 (3.8%)

9,800 (42%)

Netherlands

20,549

2,248 (10.9%)

250 (1.2%)

Malaysia

4,119

65 (1.58%)

2,567(36.1%)

In the new scheme of things in post-MCO, where Covid-19 could only be eradicated with the development of an effective vaccine in twelve to eighteen months or even longer, the country can be divided into four coloured zones, where there is no restriction for the green and yellow zones, while the orange and red zones will be subjected to restrictions not only to save lives but not to cripple the economic system.

[
Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on Thursday, 9th April 2020
]

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2020/04/09/data-terkini-wabak-covid-19-adalah-satu-sebab-untuk-pelonggaran-pkp-secara-bersyarat-bagi-menangani-sebarang-kenaikan-semula-kadar-jangkitan/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 9 April 2020, 10:30 am and is filed under
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As Malaysia appears to have turned a corner in the second wave of Covid-19 outbreak, we must work on  a phased lifting of MCO while prepared for a resurgence of the novel coronavirus

Malaysia has reported the lowest number of daily increase of Covid-19 cases  in 16 days – a daily increase of 109  cases yesterday, which was the sixth consecutive day that  the daily increase has kept below the 200-mark.

I am cautiously optimistic that we have turned  a corner in  the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak and  look forward to a two-digit daily increase of Covid-19 cases after  26 days of three-digit increases before it tapers off.

As Malaysia appears to have turned a corner in the second wave of Covid-19 outbreak, we must work on  a phased lifting of MCO while prepared for a resurgence of the novel coronavirus

Yesterday, the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia urged the government to extend the movement control order (MCO) beyond Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations.

The concern of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia that the balik kampung exodus during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations would undo all the good the  four-week MCO had achieved in the invisible war against the  Covid-19 pandemic is a valid and legitimate one.

It said “The war against Covid-19 is far from over – many sacrifices have and will continue to be made this year”.

If up to now, Malaysians still think that the war against Covid-19 is over, then we have failed in the information war – which is one of  the many wars we must win if we are to survive and prevail over the Covid-19 pandemic.

The question is whether the  extension of the MCO beyond the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations  is  the best  answer to the valid and legitimate concern whether  Malaysians understand that the war against Covid-19 is a long and protracted one  and that sacrifices have still  to be made by Malaysians.

The war against Covide-19 will not be over until an effective vaccine against it is developed in 12 to 18 months’ time or more, and Malaysians must be prepared for a resurgence of  Covid-19 at   any time, which may have to be fought with resumption of  some form of lockdowns like the MCO.

How to deal with national festivities like the upcoming  Hari Raya Aidilfitri is not  a problem which is faced only by Malaysia but by all countries in the world.

This  Easter weekend culminating in Easter Sunday on April 12 is a celebratory occasion for  many countries in Europe including those in the front-line of the pandemic, like Italy, Spain, France, Germany and United Kingdom as well as the United States – which has now emerged as the foremost epicentre of the pandemic with 468,008 cases or 29.2% of global total of confirmed Covid-19 cases of 1,602,341 and  recording a death toll of  16,649  lives or 17.4% of global  death total of 95,643.

Malaysia should learn  from the lessons how  these countries grapple  with the problem of the  Easter weekend celebrations in these countries – both success and failure.

In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, who has left ICU for  Covid-19 recovery, has twittered the message: “This Easter, protect your family from #coronavirus by staying at home.”

Authorities around the world are preparing to use curfews, roadblocks, travel bans, surveillance technology and threats of fines and arrests to deter people from travelling and congregating over Easter.

Many governments have already announced tighter restrictions and increased police enforcement in an effort to sustain lockdowns during a holiday period traditionally associated with trips and socialising.

Measures ranging from the draconian to the quixotic – a French mayor has banned sitting on benches – represent a collective warning to citizens who may be tempted to take a break from the restraint of recent weeks.

The common goal is to keep people at home.

In Italy, the authorities have warned the public to stay at home over the Easter break to prevent a spike in new cases and deaths.

To prevent Italians from flouting the lockdown measures, police in Italy are preparing to tighten controls over the Easter weekend, by increasing the number of roadblocks in place and enforcing rules to prevent people from visiting relatives out of town or spending the holiday at their second home.

The Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will sing on Easter Sunday from empty Milan Cathedral to be streamed online.

Last week, Pope Francis marked a surreal Palm Sunday in an empty St Peter’s Basilica, urging people living through the COVID-19 pandemic not to be so concerned with what they lack but how they can ease the suffering of others.

The service, which kicked  off Holy Week events leading to Easter, usually attracts tens of thousands of people to a St Peter’s Square bedecked with olive and palm trees. But this time, it was attended by only about two dozen people, including a few aides, nuns and a scaled-down choir, all practicing social distancing.

In France, about 160,000 police and gendarmes have been deployed across the country to make sure people stay home during what is normally the weekend of the Tour de France’s Grand Départ.

In Germany, authorities in many of the 16 states have said police will patrol autobahns and check whether vehicle number plates correspond to the local area. German Chancellor Angela Merkel  has called for “patience” in the coronavirus crisis, saying that society will have to “live with the virus” until a vaccine becomes available.

In locked-down Spain, the Spanish are finding ways to mark the Holy Week from their homes, by blasting religious music from their balconies or viewing videos of last year’s parades.

In Ireland, the government has given gardaí new powers to restrict people’s movements and gatherings over the next five days. A person cannot leave home without a reasonable excuse such as legal, medical and family obligations, accessing essential services or exercising within 2km of home.

In Australia,  police will use cameras and number-plate recognition technology to monitor traffic and patrol caravan parks and other holiday spots.

In Brazil, beach towns along the  south-eastern coast are sealing themselves off to prevent an influx of tourists. At least seven towns along the São Paulo coastline have reportedly banned outsiders from entering in the lead-up to Easter Sunday, and anyone who disobeys the order faces having their cars towed or being expelled. It has also converted  two major Brazilian stadiums, including the  Maracanã – which hosted two World Cup finals, in 1950 and 2014 – into Covid-19 field hospitals as the country braces for a big increase in coronavirus cases.

Extending the MCO beyond the Hari Raya Aidilfitri would mean an extension of the MCO for another five to six weeks and could cause grave economic damage to Malaysia.

The question is whether we  should have greater confidence that  Malaysians understand  that we are fighting a long and protracted  multiple war on the information, public health and economic fronts in  the Covid-19 pandemic.

Until an effective vaccine is developed, there must be a change in life-styles like social distancing, no handshakes, no balik kampong to  visit  our parents or the  elderly to protect them  from the virus unless we are tested negative in Covid-19.

The challenge  is how we are to loosen lockdowns and begin rebooting the economy as we cannot shut down the economy until a vaccine is developed.

The solution seems to lie in a phased lifting of the MCO and the policy-makers will have to carry out a phased re-opening of the economy without triggering a new wave of infections, which will lead to a fresh round of lockdowns and yet more economic damage.

One road map of phased lifting of lockdown is to aim to have  an intermediate stage in which schools and businesses would reopen but gatherings would still be limited. People would be encouraged to keep at a distance from one another, and those at high risk would be told to limit their time in public. If cases begin to rise again, restrictions would be tightened.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on Friday, l0th April 2010)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 10 April 2020, 10:26 am and is filed under
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Reiterate call for emergency Parliament next week to ensure a creative and flexible implementation of twice-extended  MCO to strengthen Malaysia’s public health infrastructure to protect frontliners, ramp up Covid-19  testing capability,  to look after  vulnerable groups and sectors and prepare for an exit strategy

Mengulangi semula seruan untuk diadakan sidang Parlimen khas minggu depan untuk memastikan pelaksanaan PKP yang kreatif dan fleksibel bagi mengukuhkan infrastruktur kesihatan awam Malaysia untuk melindungi petugas barisan hadapan, meningkatkan kebolehan ujian saringan negara, melindungi golongan dan sektor terpinggir, dan untuk menyediakan satu strategi keluar untuk negara

Berikut adalah peristiwa-peristiwa suram yang direkodkan di seluruh dunia dalam peperangan melawan Covid-19:

Pertama, Amerika Syarikat kini telah melepasi paras setengah juta kes Covid-19 yang disahkan, dengan jumlah kes positif keseluruhan sebanyak 502,876 kes dan 18,747 kematian.

Kedua, selepas melepasi paras seratus hari, tiga kawasan, Amerika Utara, Eropah, dan Timur Tengah telah mempunyai jumlah kes disahkan melebihi daripada keseluruhan Asia, dengan Amerika Utara melebihi setengah juta kes dan Eropah menghampiri paras setengah juta kes.

Ketiga, jumlah kes di Amerika Syarikat telah mengatasi Korea Selatan, walaupun kes pertama ditemui di kedua negara tersebut pada hari yang sama, 19 Januari. Dua belas minggu kemudian, Amerika Syarikat telah menjadi pusat utama dunia penularan wabak ini sedangkan Korea Selatan (sehingga awal Mac, negara ini berada di tempat kedua selepas China) pula kini dilihat sebagai sebuah negara model yang berjaya membendung wabak ini. Korea Selatan mempunyai 10,423 kes yang disahkan, dengan 204 kematian.

Keempat, jumlah kes keseluruhan global hanya kekurangan 400 kes untuk melepasi paras 1.7 juta kes disahkan. Wabak ini mengambil 12 minggu daripada kes dilaporkan yang pertama untuk sampai ke paras setengah juta kes, satu minggu untuk mencapai setengah juta kedua, dan dalam enam hari yang lepas, jumlah kes positif meningkat pada kadar 100,000 kes sehari. Pada kadar ini, jumlah kes keseluruhan global akan melepasi paras 2 juta kes awal minggu depan.

Kelima, Turki yang merupakan beberapa negara yang cuba untuk tidak mengenakan sebarang sekatan pergerakan dalam melawan wabak Covid-19 ini telah menguatkuasakan perintah berkurung selama dua hari di 31 daerah, termasuk Istanbul, Ankara, dan beberapa bandar besar yang lain susulan 98 kematian baharu dan 4,747 kes baharu dalam tempoh 24 jam yang lepas, membawa jumlah kes disahkan kepada 47,029 dengan 1,006 korban nyawa.

Malaysia harus mempelajari pengajaran — daripada kejayaan dan kegagalan — daripada negara-negara lain ini, terutamanya Korea Selatan, China, Singapura, Hong Kong, Itali, Sepanyol, United Kingdom, Amerika Syarikat, Iran, dan Turki. Tetapi kita mesti membangunkan strategi lawan sendiri dalam melawan wabak Covid-19 ini.

Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah semalam berkata yang kadar jangkitan Covid-19 di Malaysia telah menurun ke paras yang stabil selepas pelaksanaan perintah kawalan pergerakan.

Beliau menyatakan yang kadar reproduksi asas (R0) wabak ini adalah 3.55 sebelum pelaksanaan PKP pada 18 Mac. Angka tersebut telah jatuh kepada satu.

“R0 sebelum pelaksanaan PKP adalah 3.55, di mana jika seseorang itu dijangkiti, dia akan menjangkiti 3.55 orang yang lain. Sekarang kita telah berjaya menurunkan angka tersebut, ini bermakna PKP adalah berkesan untuk menurun kadar R0.”

Seorang rakan doktor telah memberitahu saya yang R0 di China dijangkakan berada pada tahap 2.6 (di mana setiap kes akan merebak menjadi 2.6 kes yang baharu), tetapi kerana kadar ujian saringan yang masih rendah di Malaysia, agak sukar untuk kita ramalkan kadar sebenar R0. Beliau mengatakan yang Malaysia perlu menguji hampir 300,000 orang, berbanding dengan 70,000 seperti yang dilakukan sekarang.

Satu kelemahan sistem kesihatan awam negara kita adalah kapasiti ujian saringan, penjejakan, dan rawatan Covid-19, dan kita perlukan polisi untuk meningkatkan kapasiti bagi membolehkan ujian saringan secara meluas dan percuma diberikan kepada semua rakyat Malaysia.

Presiden Persekutuan Persatuan Pengguna Malaysia, Marimuthu Nadason telah menyeru supaya kerajaan memberikan bantuan wang tunai bulanan kepada golongan berpendapatan rendah memandangkan PKP dilanjutkan selama dua minggu lagi.

Golongan berpendapatan rendah dan pekerja gaji harian, termasuklah buruh asing, adalah golongan yang terkesan paling teruk dengan pelanjutan PKP ini.

Singapura memberikan geran sokongan sebanyak S$800 (RM2,438) untuk tempoh tiga bulan berturut-turut untuk pekerja sepenuh masa dan kontrak, dan United Kingdom pula memberikan “80% jaminan pendapatan” yang bernilai £29 (RM156) sehari kepada pekerja yang kini mempunyai sifar ataupun dikurang tempoh bekerja mereka sepanjang krisis Covid-19 ini.

Jelas sekali, berjuta rakyat Malaysia tidak mempunyai wang yang mencukupi untuk menampung keperluan harian untuk diri sendiri dan anak-anak mereka.

Atas sebab ini, saya mengulangi sekali lagi, seruan saya supaya diadakan satu persidangan khas Parlimen pada minggu hadapan, untuk memastikan satu pelaksanaan fleksibel dan kreatif  PKP yang kini telah dilanjutkan dua kali, untuk memperkukuhkan infrastruktur kesihatan awam negara bagi melindungi petugas barisan hadapan; untuk meningkatkan kapasiti ujian saringan, penjejakan, dan rawatan Covid-19; untuk melindungi golongan dan sektor terpinggir dalam negara dan untuk menyediakan satu strategi keluar untuk Malaysia.

(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang pada hari Sabtu 11 April 2020)

==================================

Grim international milestones in the global invisible war against Covid-19:

Firstly, the United States is exceeded the half-a-million mark for confirmed Covid-19 cases, with a grand total of 502,876 confirmed cases and a total death toll of  18,747 deaths.

Secondly, in a matter of slightly over a hundred days, the three regions of North America, Europe and the Middle East have each more confirmed Covid-19 cases than Asia, with North America exceeding half-a-million mark while Europe  nearing the half-a-million confirmed  cases.

Thirdly, the United States have outstripped South Korea in the number of Covid-19 cases although Covid-19 was identified in South Korea and the United States on the same day on January 19. Twelve weeks later, United States has become the foremost epicentre of the pandemic while South Korea (until early March regarded as the second country after China which was most hard hit by the novel coronavirus) is now regarded as a model country which had contained the pandemic. South Korea has a  total of   10,423  confirmed cases with 204 deaths.

Fourthly, the global total of confirmed Covid-19 cases is less than 400 cases to pass  the 1.7 million mark. It took 12 weeks from the first reported case to  reach the  half a million mark, one week to reach a second half-million mark, and for the last six days, it had taken a day each to rage past the 100,000-case mark. At this rate, the global total of confirmed Covid-19 cases will rage past the two million mark early next week.

Fifthly, Turkey which was one of the few countries which had resisted imposing any form of lockdown in the fight against Covid-19, has put in place a two-day lockdown in 31 provinces, including Istanbul, Ankara and other major cities following  98 new deaths and 4,747 new cases in the last 24 hours, making a total of 47,029 confirmed cases and total death toll of 1,006.

Malaysia must learn from the lessons  – both success and failure – of other countries, in particular South Korea, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Iran, Turkey. But it should develop its own counter-strategy to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said yesterday that  the infectivity of Covid-19 in Malaysia has been brought down to a stable level since the implementation of the movement control order.

He said  that the basic reproductive number (R0) of the disease was 3.55 prior to the implementation of the order on March 18. That number has since fallen to just one.

“The R0 was 3.55, which means if one person is infected, that person will infect 3.55 other individuals. Now we managed to bring down the number, which means the MCO is effective to bring down the R0.”

A doctor friend told me that R0 was thought to be 2.6 (which means every case will spread to 2.6 persons) for China, but because of poor testing in Malaysia, it is not possible to accurately predict the R0 for Malaysia.  He said Malaysia must aim to get testing to 300,000 persons, as compared to some 70,000 at present.

One of the weaknesses of Malaysia’s public health system is our Covid-19 testing, tracing and treating  capabilities, and we must have a policy to  ramp up these capabilities to provide free and widespread testing  to all Malaysians.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations president Marimuthu Nadason has called for monthly cash-aid for low-income earners with the extension of the MCO.

Low-income earners and daily paid workers, including migrant workers, would be the worst hit by the  extension of  the MCO.

Singapore is giving a support grant of $800 (RM2,438) for three consecutive months for full-time and contract workers and  United Kingdom provides “80% guaranteed pay” worth £29 (RM156) daily for those who have zero to limited working hours during the Covid-19 crisis.

Clearly, millions of Malaysians simply do not have enough money to face their daily basic expenditure for themselves and their children.

For these reasons, I reiterate my call for an emergency Parliament next week   to ensure  a creative and flexible implementation of the twice-extended MCO to strengthen Malaysia’s public health infrastructure to protect  frontliners; to  ramp up Covid-19  testing, tracing and treating  capabilities;  to look after the vulnerable groups and sectors in the country and to prepare for an exit strategy.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on Saturdayk 11th April 2020)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 11 April 2020, 11:21 am and is filed under
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Parliament should not be quarantined as it   must spearhead a campaign of trust,  solidarity and unity to mobilise national  support transcending race, religion or politics to win  the invisible war against  Covid-19 virus

Parlimen tidak boleh dikuarantin kerana ia diperlukan untuk sebuah kempen untuk kepercayaan, solidariti, dan perpaduan untuk menggerakkan usaha nasional yang melangkaui kaum, agama, ataupun politik untuk memenangi peperangan melawan Covid-19

Parlimen tidak boleh dikuarantin kerana ia diperlukan untuk sebuah kempen untuk kepercayaan, solidariti, dan perpaduan untuk menggerakkan usaha nasional yang melangkaui kaum, agama, ataupun politik untuk memenangi peperangan melawan Covid-19.

Kerana inilah saya meminta Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin untuk mempertimbangkan dan memanggil satu persidangan khas Parlimen sebagai sebahagian daripada strategi penting untuk memenangi peperangan melawan wabak Covid-19.

Persidangan khas Parlimen akan menghadapi tugas penting dalam memperkasakan infrastruktur kesihatan awam negara bagi memastikan kita boleh memberikan perlindungan secukupnya kepada para petugas barisan hadapan dan untuk meningkatkan kapasiti ujian saringan, penjejakan, dan rawatan; untuk merancang program yang boleh membantu golongan dan sektor terpinggir yang terjejas teruk dengan PKP dan untuk merancang satu strategi keluar untuk negara kita.

Malaysia tidak menjadi satu-satunya negara dalam dunia di mana Parlimen diabaikan, dikuarantin, atau disisihkan memandang Parlimen di pelbagai negara yang menjadi pusat utama penularan wabak Covid-19 masih terus bersidang, seperti di Amerika Syarikat, Sepanyol, Itali, Perancis, Jerman, United Kingdom, dan Turki, untuk mempertimbangkan strategi terbaik untuk melawan penularan wabak ini.

Setakat hari ini, lima negara berikut telah merekodkan jumlah kes positif yang lebih tinggi daripada China:

Amerika Syarikat: 529,484 kes

Sepanyol: 163,027 kes

Itali: 152,271 kes

Perancis: 129,654 kes

Jerman: 124,908 kes

China: 81,953 kes

Manakala tujuh negara, didahului oleh Amerika Syarikat, Sepanyol, Itali, dan Perancis, kini disertai oleh United Kingdom, Iran, dan Belgium telah melepasi rekod kematian di China seperti berikut:

Amerika Syarikat: 20,469 kematian

Itali: 19,468 kematian

Sepanyol: 16,606 kematian

Perancis: 13,832 kematian

United Kingdom 	9,875 kematian

Iran: 4,357 kematian

Belgium: 3,346 kematian

China: 3,339 kematian

Dengan kadar peningkatan sedia ada, jumlah kes disahkan di United Kingdom dijangkakan akan melepasi China dalam masa satu atau dua hari yang akan datang. Negara tersebut merekodkan peningkatan sebanyak 5,233 kes dalam 24 yang lepas.

Parlimen di kebanyakan negara yang kini menjadi pusat penularan utama wabak Covid-19, seperti Amerika Syarikat Sepanyol, Itali, Perancis, United Kingdom, Jerman, dan Turki yang kini berada di kalangan negara ke sembilan tertinggi dengan 52,167 kes positif dan 1,101 kematian terus menjalankan tugas mereka seperti biasa, untuk mendebatkan bukan sahaja strategi terbaik untuk negara masing-masing dalam menghadapi wabak ini, tetapi juga rancangan untuk negara mereka selepas tamatnya tempoh berkurung.

Kenapakah terdapat pengecualian ini untuk Parlimen Malaysia? Mengapakah Parlimen Malaysia dipinggirkan sedangkan negara sedang berhadapan dengan krisis pada satu skala yang tidak pernah dialami kita sebelum ini?

Peraturan Mesyuarat Dewan Rakyat tidak mempunyai sebarang peruntukan untuk ahli Dewan Rakyat sendiri memanggil sidang tergempar Dewan, jika ada, peruntukan ini pastinya akan digunapakai.

Jika Parlimen dibenarkan untuk menjalankan tugasnya dalam krisis ini, sudah tentunya negara kita akan berjaya mengelakkan sandiwara “air suam”, Doraemon, Menteri Tik Tok, dan episod “penderaan suri rumah” yang kini disertai pula dengan kekecohan berkenaan tukang gunting rambut.

Ini mesti buat pertama kalinya di dunia di mana cadangan pihak berkuasa untuk melonggarkan perintah kawalan pergerakan dibantah bukan sahaja oleh masyarakat umum, tetapi oleh pihak yang sepatutnya menerima manfaat daripada pelonggaran ini.

Malah, persatuan tukang gunting rambut sendiri pun membantah cadangan supaya kedai gunting dan salun rambut dibenarkan untuk beroperasi dalam fasa ketiga PKP, sehingga timbulnya video-video yang kreatif di media sosial.

Adakah rancangan ini dibentangkan kerana terdapat menteri yang ingin memotong rambut?

Perhatian sepatutnya diberikan kepada perkhidmatan dan sokongan IT seperti yang diminta oleh Persatuan Industri Komputer dan Multimedia Malaysia dan bukannya untuk menjadikan perkhidmatan potongan rambut sebagai satu perkhidmatan penting negara.

Tidak ada perkara yang boleh mencapai tahap kejadian isu kedai gunting rambut dalam menunjukkan betapa jauhnya jurang di antara golongan menteri dengan rakyat marhaen, menunjukkan betapa pentingnya untuk jurang ini dirapatkan melalui proses perundingan yang bersesuaian dan mendalam di antara kerajaan dan masyarakat madani, dan pada masa yang sama menunjukkan kepentingan untuk diadakan sidang tergempar Parlimen supaya kita semua boleh memenangi perang melawan wabak Covid-19 ini.

(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang pada hari Ahad 12 April 2020)

=================================

Parliament should not be quarantined as it must spearhead a campaign of trust,  solidarity and unity to mobilise  national support transcending race, religion or politics  in the invisible war against  Covid-19 virus.

This is why I am asking the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to reconsider and convene an emergency meeting of Parliament  as an important strategy to fight and win the invisible war against Covid-19.

An emergency Parliament will have the important tasks of strengthening Malaysia’s public health infrastructure to protect frontliners and ramp up Covid-19  testing, tracing and treating  capabilities, formulate programmes   to look after  vulnerable groups and sectors and prepare for an exit strategy for the movement control order (MCO).

Malaysia must not be the only instance  in the world  where Parliament is ignored, marginalised or quarantined as Parliaments in countries which are the epicentres of the Covid-19 pandemic continue in session, like the United States, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom and even Turkey, to  deliberate on the best strategies to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

At present, five countries have surpassed China in the total number of Covid-19 cases, viz:

United States: 529,484 cases

Spain: 163,027 cases

Italy: 152,271 cases

France: 129,654 cases

Germany: 124,908 cases

China: 81,953 cases

Seven  countries led by United States, Spain, Italy and France, and joined by  United Kindom, Iran and Belgium  have surpassed China  in total Covid-19 death toll, viz:

United States: 20,469 deaths

Italy: 19,468 deaths

Spain: 16,606 deaths

France: 13,832 deaths

United Kingdom: 9,875 deaths

Iran: 4,357 deaths

Belgium: 3,346  deaths

China: 3,339 deaths

With its present rate of increase of confirmed Covid-19 cases, United Kingdom should surpass China in the total number of Covid-19 cases in a day or two. It recorded an increase of 5,233 cases in the past 24 hours.

Parliaments of most the countries which are the epicentres of the Covid-19 pandemic, like  United States, Spain, Italy, France, United Kingdom,  Germany and even Turkey which ranks as the top ninth country with the most number of confirmed Covid-19 cases (52,167 cases with 1,101 deaths) are performing their duties, to  debate  not only the best strategies for their  country in the Covid-19 pandemic, but also  how nations and the world are to pick themselves up after the catastrophic pandemic and  lock downs.

Why is the Malaysian Parliament an exception? Why is the Malaysian Parliament being  sidelined when the country is facing an  unprecedented Covid-19 crisis?

There are no provisions in the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders for the  requisitioning of an emergency Parliament by Members of Parliament or it would have been invoked.

If Parliament is allowed to play its full and proper role in the unprecedented  Covid-19 crisis, it would spare the country farces like the  “warm water”, Doraemon, Menteri, tik tok and “abused  housewife” episodes, which is now added  the “hair dresser” relief.

This must be the first time anywhere in the world where a proposal for the  loosening of  restrictions in a  partial or full lockdown by the authorities  as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic is  being  opposed not only by the general public, but by the very people who are supposed to be the beneficiaries.

Even  the barber and hairstylist associations themselves  oppose the proposal of  barber shops and  hair salons  being able to  operate during the third phase of the movement control order (MCO), giving rise to some very creative videos on the social media.

Is this because some Minister wants to visit a barber or hair salon?

Instead of giving consideration and priority to  IT support and services as requested by the National Tech Association of Malaysia (Pikom), we have the cock-eyed notion to make barbers an essential service.

Nothing can equal this  barber/hair salon  episode to  highlight the great gulf between the Ministerial  class and the ordinary people, and why this gulf must be bridged with proper and extensive  consultation between the government and civil society and why an emergency meeting of Parliament should be convened without any delay so that  Malaysia can  win the invisible war against Covid-19 outbreak.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on Sunday 12th April 2020)

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 12 April 2020, 10:01 am and is filed under
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