#kerajaangagal129:  All eyes are on the Cabinet meeting tomorrow –  will it save Malaysia from a full-blown constitutional crisis and lay the basis for Malaysia to win the invisible but lethal war against Covid-19 pandemic?

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

All eyes are on the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.

Will it save Malaysia from a full-blown constitutional crisis and lay the basis for Malaysia to win the invisible but lethal war against the Covid-19 pandemic?

Will the Cabinet end the game of pretension as espoused by two PAS Ministers that the opinions of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers special meeting on 16th June were in line with Putrajaya’s efforts as outlined by the Prime Minister in the National Recovery Plan and accept the fact and reality that the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Rulers wanted two things: firstly, that Parliament should meet “as soon as possible” before August 1, 2021 and secondly, there is no need for the emergency to extend beyond August 1, 2021.

With the latest Covid-19 data yesterday, Malaysia has established another dubious record in the Covid-19 pandemic – we have broken the 700,000-mark in cumulative total of Covid-19 cases, which is now 701,019 cases.

Today, we will establish another dubious record when our Covid-19 position will further worsen to be ranked No. 37, beating Switzerland, among nations in the world with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

Seven months ago, on November 18, 2020, we were ranked No. 85 among countries with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

Before the week is out, we will beat China in the cumulative total of Covid-19 deaths, as China’s present total of fatalities is 4,636 – a difference of only 159 deaths from Malaysia’s present total fatalities of 4,477.

By the end of the extension of the total lockout on June 28, we would have worsened further by beating Serbia and be ranked No. 36 among nations in the word with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

Yet, we have people who are claiming that we are winning the war against Covid-19 pandemic, when by any measure, whether macro or micro, there is no argument whatsoever that we are fighting a losing battle against Covid-19 pandemic and paying heavily not only in terms of human lives, but also in the devastation to the Malaysian economy and society.

Why is Malaysia plumbing the depths of despair in the Covid-19 pandemic instead of turning the corner with confidence and hope to get the better of the Covid-19 pandemic, like the United States, making the transition from the world’s top worst nation in the Covid-19 pandemic to even having fewer daily increase of new Covid-19 cases than Malaysia as happened two days ago?

It is to be expected that Yang di Pertuan Agong and Rulers are concerned, like ordinary Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region or politics, about the deteriorating war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The only question is why the Prime Minister and his Ministers are so out of sync with reality and refuse to accept the fact that an emergency is no solution to the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for Parliament and the State Assemblies to meet “as soon as possible” to unite the people in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic and restore public trust and confidence in the handling of the war.

Will the Cabinet tomorrow end such pretension once and for all and lay the basis for an earnest war effort and campaign to be mounted against the Covid-19 pandemic?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday June 22, 2021)

#kerajaangagal129: Semua mata tertumpu kepada mesyuarat Kabinet esok — adakah ia akan menyelamatkan Malaysia daripada krisis perlembagaan dan menyediakan asas untuk Malaysia memenangi peperangan terhadap pandemik Covid-19 yang merupakan musuh yang tidak kelihatan tetapi amat berbahaya

Semua mata tertumpu kepada mesyuarat Kabinet esok.

Adakah Kabinet akan menyelamatkan Malaysia daripada krisis perlembagaan dan menyediakan asas untuk Malaysia memenangi peperangan terhadap pandemik Covid-19 yang merupakan musuh yang tidak kelihatan tetapi amat berbahaya

Adakah Kabinet akan mengakhiri permainan dakwa-mendakwa seperti yang dimulakan dua Menteri PAS yang mendakwa kononnya pandangan yang dizahirkan Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Majlis Raja-Raja Melayu selepas mengadakan perbincangan khas pada 16 Jun lalu selaras dengan usaha Putrajaya seperti yang digariskan Perdana Menteri dalam Pelan Pemulihan Negara serta menerima hakikat dan realiti bahawa Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Raja-Raja Melayu mahu dua perkara: pertama, Parlimen harus bersidang “secepat mungkin” sebelum 1 Ogos 2021 dan kedua, tiada keperluan untuk melanjutkan tempoh darurat selepas 1 Ogos 2021.

Data Covid-19 semalam menunjukkan Malaysia telah mencipta satu lagi rekod baharu pandemik Covid-19 — kita telah memecahkan rekod dengan mencatatkan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 melebihi paras 700,000. Jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 setakat ini adalah sebanyak 701,019.

Hari ini, kita juga bakal mencipta rekod baharu apabila kedudukan kita diramal bertambah buruk, malah dijangka melompat ke tempat ke-37 — sekaligus menewaskan Switzerland — antara negara-negara dengan jumlah kes kumulatif Covid-19 tertinggi di dunia.

Tujuh bulan lepas, pada 18 November 2020, kita berada di kedudukan ke-85 antara negara-negara dengan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 tertinggi.

Sebelum hujung minggu ini, kita dijangka akan menewaskan China dalam jumlah kumulatif kes kematian akibat Covid-19. Angka kes kematian akibat Covid-19 di China setakat ini adalah sebanyak 4,636 kes – kurang 159 kes berbanding Malaysia yang mencatatkan 4,477 kes kematian setakat ini.

Menjelang hari terakhir sekatan pergerakan penuh pada 28 Jun, kedudukan kita diramal bertambah buruk dan bakal mengalahkan Serbia untuk berada di kedudukan ke-36 antara negara-negara di dunia dengan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 tertinggi.

Pun begitu, masih ada pihak yang mendakwa kita telah memenangi peperangan melawan pandemik Covid-19, sedangkan mengikut mana-mana skala ukuran, sama ada kecil mahupun besar, tidak dapat disangkal lagi bahawa kita sebenarnya telah tewas dalam peperangan menentang Covid-19 dan terpaksa membayar harga yang mahal bukan sahaja melibatkan nyawa, malah berdepan ancaman kehancuran ekonomi dan kehidupan masyarakat Malaysia.

Mengapa situasi Covid-19 di Malaysia kian memburuk tanpa menunjukkan tanda-tanda akan pulih seperti yang berlaku di Amerika Syarikat, yang dulunya dianggap sebagai antara negara dengan prestasi terburuk dalam menguruskan wabak ini, tetapi kini bangkit dengan merekodkan kes harian baharu lebih rendah berbanding Malaysia pada dua hari lalu?

Pandangan yang dizahirkan Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Raja-Raja Melayu sudah dijangka, seperti mana rakyat Malaysia tanpa mengira kaum, agama, wilayah atau politik bimbang terhadap prestasi buruk kerajaan dalam mengendalikan peperangan terhadap wabak Covid-19 saban hari.

Persoalannya sekarang, mengapa Perdana Menteri dan para Menteri seolah-olah terpisah dari realiti dan berdegil enggan untuk menerima hakikat bahawa darurat bukanlah jalan penyelesaian untuk mengekang pandemik Covid-19. Sebaliknya, yang diperlukan adalah untuk kerajaan membenarkan Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan Negeri bersidang semula “secepat mungkin” bagi menggerakkan usaha menyatupadukan rakyat dalam peperangan melawan pandemik Covid-19, sekaligus mengembalikan keyakinan dan kepercayaan masyarakat terhadap pengendalian perang terhadap musuh tidak kelihatan ini.

Adakah mesyuarat Kabinet esok akan membuat keputusan untuk menamatkan permainan dakwa-mendakwa ini dan menyediakan asas untuk Malaysia memenangi peperangan terhadap pandemik Covid-19?

(Kenyataan Media Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Selasa 22 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 22 June 2021, 7:55 am and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal130 – The Muhyiddin government’s Covid-19 pandemic  communication strategy an unmitigated failure and disaster  because of the endless SOP flip-flops, U-turns,  double-standards  and threats to freedom of press and information to the extent that Malaysian public simply do not trust what the government says

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

The Muhyiddin government’s Covid-19 pandemic communication strategy is an unmitigated failure and disaster because of the endless SOP flip-flops, U-turns, double-standards and threats to freedom of press and information to the extent that the Malaysian public simply do not trust what the government says.

This is best illustrated by the plea by the Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah for the umpteenth time yesterday to Malaysians particularly in the Klang Valley to be vigilant in complying with the SOPs and public health recommendations with the rise in Covid-19 cases from sporadic outbreaks and the virus variants, especially as many sporadic cases are asymptomatic.

He urged the people to stay at home as much as possible and obey the National Security Council’s rules on hygiene and safety measures to take when they go out.

The Health Director-General’s advice are now like water down the duck’s back, observed mostly in the breach.

This is why even the Prime Minister’s live national telecasts are not as frequent today as at the beginning of his administration after the Sheraton Move conspiracy succeeded in toppling the democratically-elected Pakatan Harapan government after 22 months, but even in the fewer Prime Minister’s live national telecasts in recent times, they are met with a degree of cynicism by the public not present in the early days of the “Sheraton Move” government.

Muhyddin Yassin self-deprecatingly said he is prepared to be accused of being “bodoh”, but the fact is that he is the most unpopular Prime Minister in the nation’s history.

Already, the communication strategy of such a government starts off with a handicap, but it is compounded by endless SOP flip-flops, U-turns, double-standards and threats to freedom of the press and information.

The latest example is the announcement yesterday by the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin of a half-month delay in Phase One of the National Recovery Plan, as the country is estimated to fully vaccinate 10 per cent of the population in the country by mid-July and not the end of June as announced by the Prime Minister in a live telecast only six days ago.

This half-month setback was presented as a great achievement of the Muhyiddin government.

This is why there was no immediate celebration when it was announced yesterday that there were 4,611 new Covid-19 cases, the lowest since mid-May, expecting there is a catch somewhere.

The DAP MP for Kuching Bandar, Kelvin Yii and and DAP MP for Bruas, Ngeh Koo Ham, have pointed out in their media statement today that yesterday’s announcement of 4,611 Covid-19 positive cases gave an impression that the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia had improved when in actual fact, this was because the number of persons tested yesterday was the lowest in June – 58,384 people yesterday as compared to 105,293 on 4th June.

Kelvin Yii cautioned the government on the current low testing rate nationwide which will set the country up for new surges of Covid-19 cases and defeat the purpose of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).

Ngeh gave on his Facebook a chart of the number of persons tested and the percentage of those found to be Covid-19 positive each day in June this year.

Ngeh pointed out the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended that the percentage of persons tested positive must remain below 5% for at least 2 weeks before considering reopening a lockdown, and that Malaysia had performed poorly as the last 3 weeks those tested Covid-19 positive had been consistently above 5.0%.

If the Cabinet tomorrow decides to ignore two conclusions of the Conference of Rulers special meeting – that Parliament should convene before August 1 and that there is no need for the emergency to be extended beyond August 1 – it would lose all credibility and legitimacy apart from plunging the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

This is an agenda which the Cabinet should address tomorrow.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday June 22, 2021)

#kerajaangagal130 — Strategi komunikasi Covid-19 kerajaan Muhyiddin merupakan satu kegagalan dan bencana besar akibat SOP yang sering berubah, layanan berbeza, dan ancaman kepada kebebasan terhadap maklumat dan akhbar sehinggakan rakyat kini tidak percaya kepada apa yang dikatakan kerajaan

Strategi komunikasi Covid-19 kerajaan Muhyiddin merupakan satu kegagalan dan bencana besar akibat SOP yang sering berubah, layanan berbeza, dan ancaman kepada kebebasan terhadap maklumat dan akhbar sehinggakan rakyat kini tidak percaya kepada apa yang dikatakan kerajaan.

Perkara ini dapat dilihat daripada rayuan Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah semalam kepada rakyat Malaysia, terutamanya yang berada di Lembah Klang, untuk terus berjaga-jaga dan patuh kepada SOP dan cadangan kesihatan awam untuk melindungi diri daripada wabak Covid-19 yang kian merebak, terutamanya apabila kebanyakkan kes sekarang tidak menunjukkan simptom.

Beliau menggesa rakyat untuk duduk di rumah seboleh mungkin dan mematuhi peraturan berkaitan kebersihan dan keselematan yang ditetapkan oleh Majlis Keselamatan Negara apabila perlu keluar dari rumah.

Nasihat ini kelihatan seakan-akan tidak lagi diendahkan.

Kerana inilah perutusan siaran langsung Perdana Menteri juga sudah tidak kerap dilakukan seperti mana pada waktu beliau mula-mula menjadi Perdana Menteri selepas Langkah Sheraton berjaya menumbangkan kerajaan Pakatan Harapan yang diundi secara sah selepas 22 bulan mentadbir. Namun, dalam beberapa siaran langsung Perdana Menteri baru-baru ini juga, ia disambut sinis oleh rakyat.

Muhyiddin cuba untuk merendah diri dengan mengatakan yang beliau sedia dipanggil “bodoh”, tetapi hakikatnya, beliau adalah Perdana Menteri yang paling tidak popular dalam sejarah negara.

Contoh terbaru adalah dalam pengumuman semalam daripada Menteri Koordinasi Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan (PICK) Khairy Jamaluddin mengenai kelewatan setengah bulan dalam Fasa Pertama Pelan Pemulihan Negara, memandangkan kita hanya dijangkakan akan berjaya memberikan vaksin kepada 10 peratus penduduk menjelang pertengahan bulan Julai, dan bukannya pada akhir bulan Jun seperti yang diumumkan Perdana Menteri enam hari sebelumnya.

Kelewatan setengah bulan ini dipersembahkan sebagai satu pencapaian kerajaan Muhyiddin.

Kerana inilah tidak ada sebarang sambutan apabila semalam diumumkan negara kita mencatatkan 4,611 kes baharu, kadar terendah sejak pertengahan bulan Mei, menunjukkan terdapat sesuatu yang disorokkan.

Ahli Parlimen DAP untuk Bandar Kuching dan Beruas, Kelvin Yii dan Ngeh Koo Ham, telah membangkitkan dalam kenyataan media mereka semalam yang pengumuman 4,611 kes semalam memberikan gambaran yang keadaan Covid-19 di Malaysia semakin beransur pulih sedangkan perkara ini terjadi kerana jumlah orang yang menjalani ujian saringan semalam adalah pada kadar terendah dalam bulan Jun — 58,384 orang, berbanding dengan 105,293 orang pada 4 Jun.

Kelvin Yii memberikan amaran kepada kerajaan yang kadar ujian saringan yang rendah buat masa sekarang ini boleh membawa kepada peningkatan kes baharu dan menggagalkan usaha Pelan Pemulihan Negara.

Ngeh di laman Facebook beliau pula menunjukkan satu carta yang menunjukkan jumlah orang yang menjalani ujian saringan dan kadar peratusan positif untuk setiap hari dalam bulan Jun tahun ini.

Ngeh menekankan yang Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO), mencadangkan supaya kadar positif dikekalkan di bawah paras 5% untuk dua minggu sekurang-kurangnya sebelum mempertimbangkan langkah-langkah untuk meringankan sekatan pergerakan. Malangnya, Malaysia mencatatkan kadar positif yang tidak memuaskan dalam tempoh tiga minggu yang lepas apabila kadar positif ini secara konsisten berada di atas paras 5%.

Sekiranya Kabinet pada hari esok terus memilih untuk tidak bertindak atas dua kesimpulan kenyataan Yang di Pertuan Agong dan Majlis Raja-raja — bahawa Parlimen patut bersidang sebelum 1 Ogos dan tidak ada keperluan untuk darurat dilanjutkan selepas 1 Ogos — ia akan terus hilang segala bentuk kredibiliti dan keabsahan dan terus menjunamkan negara kita ke dalam kancah krisis berperlembagaan.

Inilah agenda yang perlu dibincangkan dan diselesaikan oleh Kabinet esok.

(Kenyataan Media (2) Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Selasa 22 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 22 June 2021, 1:49 pm and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal131 – Call on Cabinet to be game-changer in the war against Covid-19 pandemic and  to convene an  emergency meeting of Dewan Rakyat in the first week of July as Dewan Rakyat Standing Order 9(2)(b) dispenses with the 28-day notice in “cases of urgency” as determined  to by Parliament Speaker

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

The Cabinet meeting today should be a game-changer in the war against Covid-19 pandemic and decide on convening an emergency meeting of the Dewan Rakyat in the first week of July as the Dewan Rakyat Standing Order 9(2)(b) dispenses with the 28-day notice in “cases of urgency” as may be determined by the Parliament Speaker.

There are so far three views on the convening of Parliament.

Firstly, the view that under Article 40 of the Constitution, the Yang di Pertuan Agong must act on the advice of the Cabinet or designated Minister – therefore if the Cabinet decides that Parliament should meet in September or October under Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan or that it should be suspended indefinitely, the Yang di Pertuan Agong has no choice but only to act on the advice of the Cabinet or designated Minister.

Secondly, the view that the Prime Minister has given an implicit undertaking not to invoke Article 40 of the Constitution when enacting Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 on January 11, 2021 and establishing an independent special committee “to advise the Yang di Pertuan Agong on the continuing existence of the grave emergency threatening the security, economic life and public order of the Federation arising from the epidemic of an infection disease, namely Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)”. As a result, the Yang di Pertuan did not have to act on the advice of the Cabinet or a designated Minister.

Thirdly, the view that under Section 14 (1)(b) of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021, which provides that “Parliament shall be summoned, prorogued and dissolved on a date as the Yang di Pertuan Agong thinks appropriate”, the Yang di Pertuan Agong have the emergency powers not to act on advice from the Cabinet or the designated Minister, especially as the power of dissolution of Parliament is a power which the Yang di Pertuan Agong can exercise without acting on advice from the Cabinet or the designated Minister under Article 40 (2)(c) of the Constitution. The learned President of the Senate, Rais Yatim, supports this interpretation and this view has considerable merit because of the poor drafting of the Ordinance.

But I believe all these considerations must be subordinated to one overriding concern – how to turn the tides of defeat to win the war against the Covide-19 pandemic, which has claimed 4,554 lives (77 deaths less than China which has 1.4 billion people or some 44 times Malaysia’s population) and caused untold devastation to the Malaysian economy and society.

I have been in Parliament, except for one term, for more than five decades since 1969.

I have no interest in any parliamentary game but only one concern – how Parliament is to rise to the occasion to unite Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or politics to spearhead a “whole-of-society” national mobilisation to turn the tides of defeat to win the war against Covid-19 pandemic.

We have failed in the last 18 months to impress on all Malaysians that we are in the midst of an invisible but lethal war against the Covid-19 pandemic as there is no reason whatsoever for Malaysia to be suddenly catapulted to be one of the world’s worst performing nations in the Covid-19 pandemic when nations which had hogged the world headlines for months as the world’s worst performing nations have turned the corner and are doing better than Malaysia in the war against Covid-19 pandemic.

The Malaysian government had been too “tidak apa” about the 4,554 lives lost in the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the past week, there had been 485 Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia as compared to 91 Covid-19 deaths in the United Kingdom. In the first week of the emergency from January 11 – 17, 2021, there were 50 Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia as compared to 7,841 Covid-19 deaths in UK.

Why is this so?

How many more will die if we delay the convening of Parliament until September or October at the present rate of some 70 deaths a day or some 2,000 deaths a month?

These deaths do not include the high rate of suicide during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to police statistics, 266 people took their lives between March 18 and Oct 30, 2020.

With 705,762 Covid-19 cases, we are now ranked No. 37 today among nations with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases, as compared to seven months ago when we were ranked No. 85 on Nov. 18, 2020. China, from No. 1 ranking, is now No. 100 among nations with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

Do we want to be join the “millionaire club” in the Covid-19 pandemic with 28 nations with more than a million cases of Covid-19 cases?

If Parliament is only convened in September or October, we may have already joined the Covid-19 “millionaire club”!

United States, India and United Kingdom have all made phenomenal drops from their peak in daily increase of new Covid-19 cases – United States by 98%, India by 93% and United Kingdom by 83%, while we are struggling to avoid a new peak of daily increase of new Covid-19 cases.

I share the sentiment of the UMNO MP for Tanjong Karang, Noh Omar when he said he supported the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s decree for the immediate convening of Parliament but would not support a no-confidence vote.

This was why I had proposed a one-year political moratorium which can be extended to two years where there is only one national priority – to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic and to ensure that Covid-19 fatalities do not exceed 5,000 deaths.

Let all other issues be subordinated to overcoming the existential threat to Malaysia of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Cabinet meeting later this morning must be a game-changer in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic. It should endorse the two conclusions of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on 16th June that Parliament and the State Assemblies should be convened as soon as possible with Parliament meeting before August 1 and that there is no need for the emergency to extend beyond August 1, 2021.

Let us put aside our differences, whether political or otherwise, and single-mindedly win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is what we all owe to Malaysia.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday June 23, 2021)

#kerajaangagal131 — Seruan kepada Kabinet untuk menjadi pengubah keadaan (game changer) dalam perang melawan Covid-19 dan mengadakan sidang tergempar Dewan Rakyat dalam minggu pertama bulan Julai memandangkan Peraturan Mesyuarat 9(2)(b) Dewan Rakyat boleh membatalkan notis 28 hari untuk “kes-kes mendesak” sebagaimana yang ditentukan oleh Speaker Parlimen

Setakat ini, terdapat tiga pandangan berhubung pembukaan semula Parlimen.

Pertama, pandangan yang mengatakan bahawa di bawah Perkara 40 Perlembagaan, Yang di-Pertuan Agong hendaklah bertindak mengikut nasihat Jemaah Menteri atau nasihat seseorang Menteri yang bertindak di bawah kuasa am Jemaah Menteri — justeru jika Kabinet memutuskan bahawa Parlimen harus bersidang dalam bulan September atau Oktober mengikut Fasa Tiga Pelan Pemulihan Negara atau ia harus ditangguh selama-lamanya, Yang di-Pertuan Agong tidak mempunyai pilihan selain bertindak atas nasihat Kabinet atau menteri yang dilantik.

Kedua, pandangan yang mengatakan bahawa Perdana Menteri telah memberikan janji tersirat untuk tidak menggunakan Artikel 40 Perlembagaan selepas menguatkuasakan Ordinan Darurat (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) 2021 pada 11 Januari 2021 dan menubuhkan jawatankuasa khas bebas “untuk menasihati Yang di-Pertuan Agong mengenai darurat berlanjutan yang mengancam keselamatan, kehidupan ekonomi dan ketenteraman awam persekutuan yang timbul akibat wabak. iaitu Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) ”. Oleh itu, Yang di-Pertuan Agong tidak perlu bertindak atas nasihat Kabinet atau Menteri yang dilantik.

Ketiga, pandangan yang mengatakan bahawa di bawah Seksyen 14 (1) (b) Ordinan Darurat (Kuasa-Kuasa Perlu) 2021, yang memperuntukkan bahawa “Parlimen hendaklah dipanggil, diprorog dan dibubarkan pada suatu tarikh sebagaimana yang difikirkan sesuai oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong”, Yang di-Pertuan Agong mempunyai kuasa darurat untuk tidak bertindak atas nasihat Kabinet atau Menteri yang dilantik, terutama kerana kuasa pembubaran Parlimen adalah kuasa yang boleh dilaksanakan oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong tanpa bertindak atas nasihat Kabinet atau Menteri di bawah Perkara 40(2)(c) Perlembagaan. Presiden Dewan Negara, Rais Yatim, menyokong tafsiran ini dan pandangan ini mempunyai kelebihan ekoran penggubalan Ordinan yang buruk.

Tetapi saya percaya semua pertimbangan ini harus diletakkan di bawah urusan yang paling utama – bagaimana untuk mengubah gelombang kekalahan untuk memenangkan perang melawan Covid-19, yang telah meragut 4,554 nyawa (kurang 77 kematian berbanding China yang mempunyai 1.4 bilion penduduk atau bersamaan 44 kali ganda penduduk Malaysia) dan menyebabkan kehancuran yang tidak terkata kepada ekonomi dan masyarakat Malaysia.

Saya sudah berada di Parlimen — kecuali untuk satu penggal — lebih dari lima dekad sejak 1969.

Saya tidak berminat untuk turut serta dalam sandiwara parlimen, sebaliknya ingin benar-benar mencari jalan untuk menjadikan Parlimen wadah untuk menyatupadukan rakyat Malaysia, tanpa mengira kaum, agama, wilayah atau politik bagi mempelopori gerakan “keseluruhan masyarakat” supaya kekalahan dalam perang melawan pandemik Covid-19 ini akhirnya dapat diubah menjadi kemenangan.

Kita telah gagal dalam 18 bulan yang lalu untuk menyakinkan semua rakyat Malaysia bahawa kita semua sedang berdepan peperangan dengan musuh yang tidak kelihatan tetapi amat berbahaya, kerana tiada sebab untuk Malaysia secara tiba-tiba tercampak dalam kategori negara dengan prestasi terburuk di dunia dalam mengendalikan wabak Covid-19 sedangkan negara yang menghiasi tajuk-tajuk utama berita antarabangsa untuk berbulan-bulan lamanya sebagai negara terburuk dalam menangani wabak itu kini telah menunjukkan prestasi yang lebih baik berbanding Malaysia.

Kerajaan Malaysia bersikap “tidak apa” tentang 4,554 nyawa yang telah melayang akibat pandemik Covid-19.

Dalam minggu lalu sahaja, terdapat 485 kes kematian akibat Covid-19 direkodkan di negara ini berbanding 91 kes di United Kingdom. Dalam tempoh pertama darurat dari 11 hingga 17 Januari 2021, terdapat 50 kes kematian Covid-19 di Malaysia berbanding 7,841 kes di UK.

Mengapa ini terjadi?

Berapa ramai lagi akan terkorban jika kita terus-menerus menunda persidangan Parlimen sehingga September atau Oktober ketika kadar kes kematian terkini sudah mencecah 70 orang sehari atau kita-kira 2,000 kematian sebulan?

Angka kes kematian ini tidak termasuk kadar kematian akibat bunuh diri yang begitu tinggi direkodkan semasa pandemik Covid-19 mengganas. Mengikut statistik polis, 266 orang telah membunuh diri antara 18 Mac dan 30 Oktober 2020.

Dengan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 sebanyak 705,762, kita kini berada di kedudukan ke-37 antara negara-negara dengan kes terkumpul tertinggi di dunia berbanding tujuh bulan lalu, di mana kita berada di kedudukan ke-85 pada 18 November 2020. China, dari kedudukan nombor satu, kini berada di kedudukan ke-100 antara negara-negara dengan kes terkumpul tertinggi.

Adakah kita mahu tersenarai dalam “kelab jutawan” Covid-19 bersama 29 negara-negara yang telah merekodkan kes terkumpul Covid-19 melebihi paras sejuta?

Jika Parlimen hanya akan bersidang pada September atau Oktober, tidak mustahil kita akan masuk ke dalam “kelab jutawan” Covid-19!

Amerika Syarikat, India, dan United Kingdom menunjukkan penurunan ketara dari puncak peningkatan kes Covid-19 – Amerika Syarikat mencatakan penurunan sebanyak 98%, India (93%) dan United Kingdom (83%), sementara kita masih bergelut untuk tidak merekodkan lagi puncak peningkatan kes Covid-19 yang baharu.

Saya berkongsi pandangan Ahli Parlimen UMNO Tanjong Karang, Noh Omar berhubung sokongan terhadap titah Yang di-Pertuan Agong untuk Parlimen bersidang segera, tetapi tidak akan menyokong undi tidak percaya.

Inilah sebabnya mengapa saya mencadangkan supaya moratorium politik dilaksanakan selama satu tahun — yang boleh dilanjutkan kepada dua tahun — bagi membolehkan negara fokus kepada usaha untuk memenangi peperangan melawan wabak Covid-19 dan memastikan jumlah kes kematian akibat Covid-19 tidak melebihi paras 5,000 kes

Marilah sama-sama kita mengetepikan isu lain bagi memberi tumpuan kepada isu pandemik Covid-19 yang sedang mengancam negara kita.

Mesyuarat Kabinet hari ini harus menjadi pengubah keadaan (game changer) dalam perang melawan pandemik Covid-19. Kabinet harus menyokong dua kesimpulan kenyataan Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Majlis Raja-raja Melayu hasil perbincangan khas pada 16 Jun bahawa Parlimen patut bersidang sebelum 1 Ogos dan tidak ada keperluan untuk darurat dilanjutkan selepas 1 Ogos.

Marilah kita mengetepikan perbezaan kita, sama ada dalam hal politik atau lain-lain, dan memberi tumpuan sepenuhnya untuk memenangi peperangan melawan pandemik Covid-19.

Inilah tanggungjawab kita kepada negara.

(Kenyataan Media Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Rabu 23 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 23 June 2021, 7:54 am and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal132 – Noraini Ahmad, Higher Education Minister should put an immediate stop to the exclusion and discrimination against students with disabilities from tertiary education

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

The Higher Education Minister, Noraini Ahmad should put an immediate stop to the exclusion and discrimination against students with disabilities from tertiary education.

It is most shocking that a student with 9As was denied the chance to pursue her tertiary education at a local public university due to her physical disability.

The student group Concerned UM Indian Graduates (Cumig) has submitted a letter to the Higher Education Minister on a 2019 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia candidate with 9As who used a wheelchair who was excluded and discriminated against in a local public university.

She was shortlisted for UKM’s Asasi Pintar Pre-University Programme (APP) and attended an interview as well as completed all the documents required, including a video submission.

However, during the UPU Online Update Phase, her previous application was blank and she was eligible to only choose from two diploma programmes and 20 community college certifications.

There are 20 public universities, 36 polytechnics and four public skills training institutions (in Malaysia), yet she was only given the opportunity to apply for two diploma programmes and to community colleges because of her physical disability.

She was told by an officer that she was unable to pick

other university programmes, even though she is qualified, because they did not have the facilities to cater to disabled candidates.

UPU Online had said that the applicant was only able to apply for disabled-friendly programmes that had been predetermined by the university, based on the type of disability faced by the applicant.

This is not an isolated case as other disabled applicants also face similar problems when applying through UPU Online.

I agree with the former Education Minister, Dr. Mazlee Malik that this is a grave injustice and that students

with disabilities deserve to have the same opportunities as other university candidates to pursue their tertiary education, instead of having their access blocked.

The Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad should

take immediate action to rectify such injustices to students with disabilities

as Malaysia had signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2008, which includes the right for people with disabilities to receive an education.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday June 23, 2021)

#kerajaangagal132 — Noraini Ahmad, Menteri Pengajian Tinggi, patut menghentikan amalan pengecualian dan diskriminasi terhadap para pelajar kurang upaya dari pendidikan tinggi

Menteri Pengajian Tinggi, Noraini Ahmad harus menghentikan segera amalan pengecualian dan diskriminasi terhadap pelajar kurang upaya dari pendidikan tinggi.

Paling mengejutkan apabila seorang pelajar dengan 9A tidak diberi peluang untuk melanjutkan pelajaran ke universiti awam tempatan kerana keadaan kurang upaya fizikalnya.

Kumpulan pelajar Graduan India Prihatin UM (Cumig) telah menghantar surat kepada Menteri Pengajian Tinggi mengenai seorang calon Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia 2019 dengan keputusan 9A yang menggunakan kerusi roda yang tidak dapat masuk dan didiskriminasi di universiti awam tempatan.

Beliau telah disenarai pendek untuk Program Asasi Pintar (APP) UKM dan telah menghadiri temuduga serta menghantar semua dokumen yang diperlukan, termasuklah rakaman video.

Walau bagaimanapun, semasa Fasa Kemas Kini Dalam Talian UPU, permohonannya tiba-tina hilang dan beliau hanya dapat memilih di antara dua program diploma dan 20 sijil kolej komuniti.

Terdapat 20 universiti awam, 36 politeknik dan empat institusi latihan kemahiran awam (di Malaysia), namun beliau hanya diberi peluang untuk memohon dua program diploma dan ke kolej komuniti kerana kekurangan fizikalnya.

Beliau diberitahu oleh seorang petugas bahawa beliau tidak dapat memilih program di universiti lain, walaupun memenuhi syarat, kerana mereka tidak memiliki kemudahan untuk orang kurang upaya.

UPU Online mengatakan bahawa pemohon hanya dapat memohon program mesra orang kurang upaya yang telah ditentukan oleh universiti, berdasarkan jenis ketidakupayaan yang dihadapi oleh pemohon.

Ini bukan kes terpencil kerana pemohon kurang upaya lain juga menghadapi masalah yang sama ketika membuat permohonan melalui UPU Online.

Saya setuju dengan mantan Menteri Pendidikan, Dr. Mazlee Malik bahawa ini adalah satu ketidakadilan yang besar dan bahawa pelajar kurang upaya layak untuk mendapat peluang yang saksama dengan calon universiti lain untuk melanjutkan pelajaran ke peringkat pengajian tinggi, dan bukannya menyekat akses mereka kepada pendidikan tinggi.

Menteri Pengajian Tinggi Noraini Ahmad harus mengambil tindakan segera untuk membetulkan ketidakadilan terhadap pelajar kurang upaya kerana Malaysia telah menandatangani Konvensyen PBB mengenai Hak Orang Kurang Upaya pada tahun 2008, yang merangkumi hak bagi orang kurang upaya untuk menerima pendidikan.

(Kenyataan Media (2) Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Rabu 23 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 23 June 2021, 12:49 pm and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal133 – Support for two parliamentarians  who want  allegations about the police and judiciary not to  be swept under the carpet

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

I support the call by two Parliamentarians, DAP MP for Segambut Hannah Yeoh and Warisan MP for Penampang, Darell Leking, that allegations implicating the independence of the Malaysian judiciary, the legal profession and the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) must not be swept under the carpet.

Hannah and Darell were referring to news reports on alleged interference with the judiciary involving two senior lawyers and that police reports have been lodged by the parties involved.

Malaysiakini recently reported on how what began as an issue over the bumiputera equity requirement for a Petronas licence involving a Malaysian unit of Aker Solutions ASA, Norway’s largest oil services firm, has escalated into claims of judicial fixing that have rocked the legal fraternity.

The two MPs also referred to claims by former IGP Abdul Hamid Bador of political intervention in the police force, when he admitted there was “bad blood” between him and Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin.

Hamid said a minister should only be involved in policy making and should not get involved in the appointments of senior police officers.

Malaysia has a special interest in ensuring the independence of the Judiciary and the professionalism and non-politicisation of the Royal Malaysian Police, which were undermined in previous administrations before the historic 14th General Election which shocked the world with a peaceful and democratic transition of power.

The restoration of the independence of the Judiciary and the professionalism and non-politicisation of the Royal Malaysian Police were two key unfinished reforms of the Pakatan Harapan government when it was toppled after only 22 months by the Sheraton Move conspiracy which ushered in a government which is not only a kakistocracy but have turned Malaysia into a dystopia with the 18-month long losing war against Covid-19 pandemic.

The Sultan of Johore, like the Rulers in the other states, is rightly concerned that the people are living in hardship, fear and anxiety as a result of the 18-month Covid-19 pandemic, turning Malaysia into dystopia.

Malaysians are shocked that a week after the Conference of Rulers special meeting on the Covid-19 pandemic, the government is still negative-minded trying to give an elastic interpretation of the phrase of “as soon as possible” which the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers want Parliament and the state legislatures to be convened.

If the Prime Minister has any doubt about the meaning of “as soon as possible”, why didn’t he ask the Yang di Pertuan Agong in his weekly audience with the King?

This is a crucial time for Malaysians to rally behind the cause of the independence of the national institutions in the country, whether the constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy, the independence of the judiciary or the professionalism and non-politicisation of the Royal Malaysian Police.

Let us unite to win the invisible and lethal war against the Covid-19 pandemic by upholding the five principles of Rukun Negara although there are Ministers who do not support the Rukun Negara.

(Media Statement (3) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday June 23, 2021)

#kerajaangagal133 – Sokongan kepada dua Ahli Parlimen yang mahu dakwaan membabitkan kebebasan badan kehakiman negara, profesion undang-undang dan polis disiasat dan tidak dilupakan

Saya menyokong gesaan dua ahli Parlimen, Ahli Parlimen DAP Segambut, Hannah Yeoh dan Ahli Parlimen Warisan Penampang, Darell Leiking, supaya dakwaan membabitkan kebebasan badan kehakiman negara, profesion undang-undang dan Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) disiasat dan tidak dilupakan.

Hannah dan Darell merujuk kepada laporan berita berkenaan dakwaan campur tangan ke atas badan kehakiman negara membabitkan dua peguam kanan dan laporan polis yang telah dibuat oleh mereka yang terlibat.

Malaysiakini sebelum ini melaporkan bagaimana awalnya isu keperluan ekuiti bumiputera untuk mendapatkan lesen Petronas membabitkan unit Aker Solutions ASA di Malaysia, iaitu firma perkhidmatan minyak terbesar di Norway, berkembang menjadi dakwaan pengaturan kehakiman yang membimbangkan golongan peguam (legal fraternity).

Kedua-dua Ahli Parlimen itu turut merujuk dakwaan bekas ketua polis negara (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador berkenaan campur tangan politik dalam polis, apabila mengakui hubungan tidak baik antara dia dan Menteri Dalam Negeri Hamzah Zainudin.

Hamid mendakwa seorang menteri hanya patut terlibat dalam pembuatan dasar, dan tidak harus terlibat dalam soal pelantikan pegawai polis kanan.

Malaysia mempunyai kepentingan khusus dalam memastikan kebebasan Badan Kehakiman serta profesionalisme PDRM yang tidak dipengaruhi politik. Kedua-dua institusi ini telah dirosakkan oleh pentadbiran terdahulu sebelum Pilihan Raya Umum ke-14 yang bersejarah yang mengejutkan dunia dengan peralihan kuasa yang aman dan demokratik.

Pengembalian kebebasan Badan Kehakiman dan profesionalisme Polis Diraja Malaysia yang tidak dipengaruhi politik adalah dua reformasi utama kerajaan Pakatan Harapan yang tidak dapat diselesaikan ekoran digulingkan setelah hanya 22 bulan mentadbir oleh konspirasi Langkah Sheraton yang membawa masuk sebuah kerajaan yang bukan sahaja kakistokrasi, malah telah menjadikan Malaysia sebuah distopia dengan kekalahan dalam perang melawan wabak Covid-19 sejak 18 bulan lalu.

Sultan Johor, seperti mana Sultan di negeri lain, menzahirkan keprihatinan terhadap rakyat yang kesusahan, ketakutan dan kegelisahan ekoran masalah penularan virus Covid-19 yang berlarut sejak 18 bulan yang lalu.

Rakyat Malaysia terkejut bahawa seminggu selepas perbincangan khas Majlis Raja-Raja Melayu berhubung situasi pandemik Covid-19, kerajaan masih mempersoalkan tentang tafsiran ungkapan “secepat mungkin” yang dititahkan oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Majlis Raja-Raja Melayu berkenaan pembukaan Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan Negeri.

Sekiranya Perdana Menteri mempunyai keraguan tentang erti “secepat mungkin”, mengapa beliau tidak memohon penjelasan dalam pertemuan mingguannya dengan Yang di-Pertuan Agong?

Ini adalah masa yang sangat penting bagi rakyat Malaysia untuk bersatu di belakang kebebasan institusi kebangsaan di negara ini, sama ada Raja Berperlembagaan, demokrasi berparlimen, kebebasan kehakiman atau profesionalisme Polis Diraja Malaysia yang tidak dipengaruhi politik.

Marilah kita bersatu untuk memenangkan perang melawan Covid-19 yang merupakan musuh yang tidak dapat dilihat tetapi amat berbahaya dengan menegakkan lima prinsip Rukun Negara walaupun ada Menteri yang tidak dilihat mendukung semangat Rukun Negara.

(Kenyataan Media (3) Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Rabu 23 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 23 June 2021, 3:22 pm and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal134 – Malaysia needs a “Win the War Against Covid-19 Pandemic” (WACOP)  coalition government to save the country from the devastation in lives, economic losses and societal damages of the pandemic

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

Malaysia needs a “Win the War Against Covid-19 Pandemic” (WACOP) coalition government to save the country from the devastation in lives, economic losses and societal damages of the pandemic.

Today, Malaysia has plumbed a new depth in the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With 4,637 Covid-19 deaths, we have beaten China, the former No. 1 nation in total cumulative total of Covid-19 cases, as it has 4,636 Covid-19 deaths.

We have also beaten China in total cumulative total of Covid-19 cases, as China now ranked No. 100 with 91,653 Covid-19 cases while Malaysia, with 711,006 Covid-19 cases is now ranked No. 37 – as compared to being ranked No. 85 seven months ago.

It is to be noted that China has a population of 1.4 billion people, some 44 times Malaysia’s population of 32 million but Malaysia has about eight times the Covid-19 caseload than China.

Today, our pandemic situation is going to be worsen when we overtake (worst-case scenario is we will overtake tomorrow) Serbia to become No. 36 in the world among nations in the world with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

The question is whether we will overtake Jordan to be ranked No. 35 among nations with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases – whether by June 30 or the first week of July!

Is this what the Prime Minister’s Covid-19 National Recovery Plan all about?

Muhyiddin said on June 15 in a live national telecast about four phases in the National Recovery Plan – to transition from Phase One to Phase Two provided three conditions are met: record an average of below 4,000 Covid-19 cases, ICU capacity easing to moderate levels and 10 per cent of the population being fully vaccinated.

It would appear that none of the three conditions will be met by the end of the month, viz:

· Firstly, we will not record an average of below 4,000 Covid-19 cases, when we have not once touched below 4,000 cases in the month of June, ranging from 4,611 cases on 21st June to 8,209 cases on 3rd June.

In fact the total of the Covid-19 cases in 23 days in June i.e. 138,649 cases will already exceed above 4,000 cases if divided by 30 days i.e. 4,621.

· Secondly, there has been no easing of the ICU capacity and no signs that ICU bed utilisation is below 75%.

Two days ago, the DAP Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah urged Health Minister Dr Adham Baba to explain the situation at Serdang Hospital after its ambulance service refused to transport a Covid-19 patient suffering breathing difficulties.

Moreover, after volunteers brought a Covid-19 patient to the hospital yesterday, he claimed that the staff there told them not to bring any more patients because there were not enough beds at the hospital.

On June 8, the Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said that the usage of Covid-19 beds in ICU has increased to 104 per cent on June 6. This is up from 96 per cent that was recorded on May 25.

The health director general said the fact that the rate of occupied Covid-19 ICU beds has breached 100 per cent was very much alarming.

“This basically means there is no space for patients who come in needing intensive care, these are critical cases,” he said.

He had also tweeted about a long fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as it would take three to four month to flatten the curve.

· Thirdly, the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has announced a half-month delay in Phase One as the country is estimated to fully vaccinate 10 per cent of the population in the country only by mid-July and not the end of June.

Yet we have the Prime Minister himself involved in flip-flops, U-turns and double standards which the Muyhiddin government had made so infamous during the Covid-19 pandemic.

What type of a Covid-19 National Recovery Plan has the Muhyiddin government drawn up when it could not withstand scrutiny after only a few days?

As a result, Muhyiddin made an open-ended statement yesterday and said that although the government had set certain targets like dates and periods, number of cases, vaccination milestones, and usage of ICU beds, the actual situation frequently changes.

It is strange that for a politician in a parliamentary democracy for over four decades, Muhyiddin has developed a complex best described as “Parliamentitis” in his fear and obsession about Parliament.

The Sultan of Johore spoke for all Malaysians when he expressed his sadness that the people are living in hardship, fear and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic and his disappointment that until today, the Covid-19 pandemic has yet to be resolved.

I call on Muhyiddin to overcome his “Parlimentitis” and convene Parliament before August 1 which is the clear wish of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and to fulfil the wishes of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on June 15 not to extend the Emergency on August 1.

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel on the political front?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, June 24, 2021)

#kerajaangagal134 — Malaysia memerlukan kerajaan gabungan “Menang Perang Melawan Covid-19” untuk menyelamatkan rakyat dan negara daripada kehancuran dan kerugian ekonomi

Malaysia memerlukan kerajaan gabungan “Menang Perang Melawan Covid-19” untuk menyelamatkan rakyat dan negara daripada kehancuran dan kerugian ekonomi.

Hari ini, Malaysia terjerumus lebih dalam ke lembah kehancuran akibat daripada Covid-19.

Dengan kes kematian akibat Covid-19 yang berjumlah 4,637 setakat ini, kita telah menewaskan China (4,636 kes kematian), yang sebelum ini berada di kedudukan pertama dalam kalangan negara dengan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 tertinggi.

Kita juga telah menewaskan China dalam jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19. China berada di kedudukan ke-100 dengan 91,653 kes sementara Malaysia berada di kedudukan ke-37 dengan 711,006 kes Covid-19 – berbanding kedudukan ke-85 pada tujuh bulan lalu.

Perlu diingatkan bahawa China mempunyai jumlah penduduk seramai 1.4 bilion iaitu bersamaan 44 kali ganda daripada 32 juta penduduk Malaysia. Pun begitu, Malaysia mempunyai kira-kira lapan kali ganda jumlah kes Covid-19 berbanding China.

Hari ini, situasi wabak Covid-19 di negara kita akan bertambah lebih buruk selepas kita dijangka akan mengatasi Serbia untuk mengambil alih tempat ke-36 antara negara-negara di dunia dengan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 tertinggi.

Persoalannya sekarang — Adakah kita akan memintas Jordan untuk berada di kedudukan ke-35 antara negara-negara di dunia dengan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 tertinggi — yang dijangka akan berlaku pada 30 Jun atau dalam minggu pertama bulan Julai!

Adakah ini yang dimahukan Perdana Menteri menerusi Pelan Pemulihan Negara yang dibentangkannya?

Menerusi siaran langsung televisyen pada 15 Jun lalu, Muhyiddin membentangkan empat fasa dalam Pelan Pemulihan Negara — peralihan dari Fasa Satu ke Fasa Dua akan berlaku jika syarat-syarat ini dipenuhi: merekodkan purata kes Covid-19 di bawah 4,000 kes sehari, kapasiti katil di unit rawatan rapi (ICU) juga perlu mencapai paras 75 peratus ke bawah di samping 10 peratus populasi yang telah divaksin.

Ketiga-tiga syarat berkenaan nampaknya tidak akan dicapai menjelang hujung bulan ini, kerana:

– Pertama, kita tidak merekodkan purata kes Covid-19 di bawah 4,000 kes sehari, memandangkan kes Covid-19 tidak pernah jatuh ke bawah paras 4,000 kes sepanjang bulan Jun. Angka kes yang direkodkan berlegar di antara 4,611 kes pada 21 Jun dan 8,209 kes pada 3 Jun.

Malah, jumlah kes Covid-19 dalam tempoh 23 hari dalam bulan Jun (138,649) sudah melebihi 4,000 kes jika jumlah itu dibahagikan dengan 30 hari (4,621 kes).

– Kedua, kapasiti katil di unit rawatan rapi (ICU) tidak mencapai paras 75 peratus ke bawah.

Dua hari lalu, Adun DAP Seri Kembangan Ean Yong Hian Wah menggesa Menteri Kesihatan menjelaskan situasi di Hospital Serdang selepas ambulans enggan membawa pesakit Covid-19 yang mengalami masalah pernafasan.

Tambahnya, selepas sukarelawan membawa pesakit Covid-19 ke hospital semalam, beliau mendakwa kakitangan di situ memberitahu mereka untuk tidak lagi menghantar pesakit kerana kekurangan katil di hospital.

Pada 8 Jun, Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan, Noor Hisham Abdullah berkata penggunaan katil ICU oleh pesakit Covid-19 telah meningkat kepada 104 peratus pada 6 Jun. Ini merupakan peningkatan daripada 96 peratus pada 25 Mei.

Noor Hisham berkata, penggunaan kapasiti ICU yang melebihi 100 peratus ini amat membimbangkan .

“Ini bermakna tiada ruang untuk pesakit lain yang datang untuk mendapatkan rawatan rapi,” katanya.

Beliau juga berkata tiga hingga empat bulan diperlukan untuk melandaikan lekuk penularan Covid-19.

– Ketiga, Menteri Penyelaras Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan, Khairy Jamaluddin mengumumkan kelewatan selama setengah bulan dalam Fasa Satu kerana 10 peratus penduduk dijangka hanya akan diberikan vaksin penuh pada pertengahan Julai dan bukannya pada penghujung Jun.

Pun begitu, Perdana Menteri masih berterusan membuat dasar flip-flop, melakukan pusingan-U dalam keputusan yang sudah dibuat dan mengamalkan sikap dwi-standard dalam pelaksanaan SOP.

Apa jenis Pelan Pemulihan Negara Covid-19 yang dirangka kerajaan Muhyiddin jika kredibilitinya diragui hanya selepas beberapa hari ia diumumkan?

Akhirnya, Muhyiddin membuat kenyataan terbuka semalam. Beliau berkata situasi sebenar sentiasa berubah-ubah meskipun kerajaan telah menentukan sasaran seperti tarikh, tempoh, kadar dan jumlah kes serta proses vaksinasi serta kapasiti penggunaan katil di unit rawatan rapi (ICU).

Amat pelik bagi Muhyiddin — yang telah terlibat selama empat dekad dalam proses demokrasi berparlimen — mempunyai perasaan takut terhadap Parlimen.

Sultan Johor menyuarakan apa yang terbuku dalam isi hati rakyat Malaysia. Baginda menzahirkan keprihatinan terhadap rakyat yang kesusahan, ketakutan dan kegelisahan ekoran masalah penularan virus Covid-19 dan kekecewaan baginda kerana sehingga hari ini, masalah Covid-19 masih belum selesai.

Saya menggesa agar Muhyiddin mengatasi perasaan takutnya terhadap Parlimen dengan segera memanggil sidang Parlimen sebelum 1 Ogos dan tidak melanjutkan tempoh darurat selepas ia berakhir pada 1 Ogos, yang merupakan hasrat Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Majlis Raja-Raja Melayu selepas mengadakan perbincangan khas pada 15 Jun.

Adakah kita akan melihat sinar harapan baharu dalam politik negara?

(Kenyataan Media Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Khamis, 24 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 24 June 2021, 8:03 am and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal135 – Is Muhyiddin’s “Parliamentitis” – his fear and obsession with Parliament  – so overwhelming and overpowering that he is prepared to risk the displeasure of Yang di Pertuan Agong, the Rulers and the Malaysian people not to convene Parliament before August 1, 2021?

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

Dewan Rakay Deputy Speaker, Mohd Rashid Hasnon, has said that Parliament has adequate facilities to implement a hybrid Dewan Rakyat sitting at any time necessary.

Why then is the Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin suggesting involving the opposition in a committee to study the reconvening of Parliament and also whether it should be done in a hybrid mode – a combination of physical and virtual presence?

Is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament), Takiyuddin Hassan, remiss and negligent in his ministerial duties in not keeping the Prime Minister informed that Parliament has adequate facilities to implement a hybrid parliamentary proceeding?

The fact that there had been no follow-up action following the Prime Minister’s offer on Sunday raises questions about Takyiyuddin’s performance of his Ministerial duties, but the sincerity of the Prime Minister’s offer.

Be that as it may, the Pakatan Harapan presidential council has said it is prepared to join the committee evaluating the reopening of Parliament, but on condition that this does not lead to any delay in the convening of Parliament before August 1.

What is the Muhyiddin’s response or is Muhyiddin’s “Parliamentitis” – his fear and obsession with Parliament – so overwhelming and overpowering that he is prepared to risk the displeasure of Yang di Pertuan Agong, the Rulers and the Malaysian people not to convene Parliament before August 1, 2021?

It has been pointed out that the 28-day notice normally required for the convening of Parliament can be dispensed with under Standing Orders 9(2)(a) and 11(2).

I can still remember the urgent Parliamentary meeting in January 1979 when MPs were given two days’ notice for an urgent parliamentary meeting as a result of the Privy Council decision in London on Teh Cheng Poh case.

In July 2014, MPs were given three days’ notice to convene a special meeting of the Dewan Rakyat for one day on the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Both the Teh Cheng Poh Privy Council decision and the tragic downing of MH17 airliner are no comparison to the magnitude and enormity of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused more Covid-19 cases and fatalities than China, which had 44 times’ Malaysia’s population, and the devastation of the Malaysian economy and society in the past 18 months with no end in sight.

Barisan Nasional MPs have issued a statement that they will not support a motion of no confidence when Parliament is convened.

In a collective statement, Barisan Nasional MPs pledged to uphold the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree following a special meeting of Malay Rulers on June 16, where the king stressed the need to reconvene Parliament as soon as possible and to strengthen present steps to tackle Covid-19.

There are also no plans for the Pakatan Harapan to move any no confidence motion against Muhyiddin.

What more is there for Muhyiddin to be afraid of in convening Parliament before August 1.

The Sultan of Johore spoke for all Malaysians when he expressed his sadness that the people are living in hardship, fear and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic and his disappointment that until today, the Covid-19 pandemic has yet to be resolved.

I call on Muhyiddin to overcome his “Parlimentitis” and convene Parliament before August 1 which is the clear wish of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and to fulfil the wishes of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on June 16 not to extend the Emergency on August 1.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, June 24, 2021)

#kerajaangagal135 — Adakah “Parlimentitis” Muhyiddin — ketakutan dan kerisauan beliau kepada Parlimen — sebegitu kuat sehingga beliau bersedia untuk semua orang marah dengan tidak memanggil sidang Parlimen sebelum 1 Ogos 2021?

Timbalan Yang di Pertua Dewan Rakyat, Mohd Rashid Hasnon, telah mengatakan yang Parlimen mempunyai kemudahan yang mencukupi untuk mengadakan sidang Parlimen secara hibrid pada bila-bila masa yang diperlukan.

Jadi mengapakah Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, mencadangkan penubuhan sebuah jawatankuasa untuk mengkaji pembukaan semula Parlimen dan sama ada patut dijalankan secara hibrid yang melibatkan Ahli-ahli Parlimen Pembangkang?

Adakah Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Hal Ehwal Undang-undang dan Parlimen), Takiyuddin Hassan, telah lalai dan gagal dalam menjalankan tanggungjawab beliau apabila beliau tidak memaklumkan kepada Perdana Menteri yang Parlimen mempunyai kemudahan yang mencukupi untuk mengadakan sidang Parlimen secara hibrid?

Hakikat di mana masih tidak ada apa-apa tindakan susulan daripada Takiyuddin sejak daripada tawaran Perdana Menteri pada Ahad lepas mengenai pembentukan jawatankuasa ini bukan sahaja menimbulkan persoalan mengenai prestasi Takiyuddin, tetapi juga menimbulkan persoalan terhadap keikhlasan tawaran Perdana Menteri itu sendiri.

Namun, biar apa pun yang terjadi, Majlis Presiden Pakatan Harapan telah mengatakan yang mereka bersedia untuk menyertai jawatankuasa untuk mempertimbangkan pembukaan semula Parlimen ini, dengan syarat perkara ini tidak melengahkan pembukaan semula Parlimen sebelum 1 Ogos.

Apakah tindak balas Muhyiddin? Atau adakah “Parlimentitis” beliau — ketakutan dan kerisauan beliau terhadap Parlimen — telah menjadi terlalu kuat sehinggakan beliau sanggup mengundangkan kemurkaan Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di Pertuan Agong dan Majlis Raja-raja Melayu, dan juga kemarahan rakyat Malaysia dengan tidak memanggil sidang Parlimen sebelum 1 Ogos 2021?

Sebelum ini, telah dibangkitkan perkara bahawa notis 28 hari untuk persidangan parlimen boleh diketepikan mengikut peruntukan Peraturan Mesyuarat 9(2)(a) dan 11(2).

Saya masih lagi ingat persidangan tergempar Parlimen pada bulan Januari 1979 apabila Ahli-ahli Parlimen diberikan notis dua hari untuk bersidang susulan daripada keputusan Majlis Privy di London mengenai kes Teh Cheng Poh.

Pada bulan Julai 2014, Ahli-ahli Parlimen diberikan notis selama tiga hari untuk sidang tergempar Dewan Rakyat selama sehari selepas kejadian tragis kapal terbang Malaysia Airlines MH17 ditembak jatuh.

Kedua-dua kes Majlis Privy Teh Cheng Poh dan kes tragis MH17 tidak dibandingkan dengan bencana Covid-19 yang sedang melanda negara kita sekarang. Wabak ini telah meragut lebih ramai nyawa di negara kita berbanding dengan China, yang mempunyai 44 kali ganda lebih penduduk, dan juga membawa kerosakan kepada ekonomi dan struktur sosial dalam 18 bulan yang lepas dalam negara kita.

Ahli-ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional telah mengeluarkan kenyataan yang mereka tidak akan menyokong sebarang usul undi tidak percaya apabila Parlimen bersidang.

Dalam kenyataan bersama, Ahli-ahli Parlimen BN berikrar untuk berpegang kepada titah Yang di Pertuan Agong selepas mesyuarat khas Majlis Raja-raja pada 16 Jun, di mana baginda bertitah mengenai keperluan untuk Parlimen bersidang semula secepat mungkin untuk menguatkan lagi langkah-langkah melawan wabak Covid-19.

Tidak ada sebarang rancangan daripada Pakatan Harapan untuk membawa usul undi tidak percaya terhadap Muhyiddin.

Jadi apa lagi yang Muhyiddin takut untuk memanggil sidang Parlimen sebelum 1 Ogos?

Sultan Johor bercakap bagi pihak semua rakyat Malaysia apabila baginda menzahirkan kesedihan baginda melihat rakyat hidup dalam kesusahan, kebimbangan, dan kerisauan semasa berhadapan dengan wabak Covid-19 dan juga kekecewaan baginda apabila sehingga hari ini, wabak Covid-19 ini masih lagi belum dapat diselesaikan.

Saya seru kepada Muhyiddin untuk mengatasi “Parlimentitis” beliau ini panggil semula sidang Parlimen secepat mungkin sebelum 1 Ogos, yang merupakan hasrat jelas Yang di Pertuan Agong dan mesyuarat khas Majlis Raja-raja Melayu pada 16 Jun supaya darurat tidak perlu dilanjutkan selepas 1 Ogos.

(Kenyataan media (2) Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Khamis, 24 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 24 June 2021, 2:46 pm and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal136 – Malaysia will never win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic if Annuar Musa’s attitude represents the mentality of the Muhyiddin government

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

I was shocked and dumbfounded to read the Malaysiakini report of what the Federal Territories Minister, Annuar Musa had said at the Harakah Daily forum on the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said it is an indicator that the government has succeeded in managing the pandemic when the people are no longer afraid of Covid-19.

Annuar said: “We are having a problem where the people are not afraid of Covid-19. So when the people are not scared, it means that some think this is not an outbreak.”

He continued: “To me, this is an indication that we have successfully controlled this outbreak, that it is no longer being considered as such by some people. That shows success.”

Annuar asked the audience to compare the situation in Malaysia with other countries, especially those which are far superior in terms of technology and medical advancement.

Citing several examples, he said the US to date has recorded close to 35 million positive cases including 615,232 deaths while the UK recorded over 4.5 million cases with 127,000 deaths.

This, according to Annuar, is another indication that Malaysia has been doing relatively well compared to other countries.

He also said the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme is another point to weigh.

“How can people say that we failed? Now every four days, a million people are being given free vaccination shots.

“Is that a sign that we have failed?”

We have a most fantastic Cabinet – Ministers who could see success in failure! Two words keep coming to my mind when I read this report: kakistocracy and dystopia.

Is Annuar a typical example of the Muhyiddin Cabinet who regards the emergency proclamation on January 12, 2021 to combat the Covid-19 epidemic as a great success instead of a dismal failure!

How many Ministers in Muhyiddin’s bloated Cabinet think like Annuar – that the government is winning the war against Covid-19 pandemic when actually we are losing it?

Malaysia will never win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic if Annuar Musa’s attitude represents the mentality of the Muhyiddin government in the war against Covid-19 pandemic.

It most absurd and shocking that we have a government which seems to regard the abysmal failure of the emergency proclamation as a weapon against the Covid-19 pandemic and a communication policy and strategy to educate the people about the dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic as a great success.

No wonder the country is in such deep trouble!

The Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah is worrying himself to death about the high rate of Covid-19 cases and deaths; that the public health, hospital and ICU systems are on breaking-point as a result of the deluge of Covid-19 cases – but this is not reflected by the concerns of the political leadership in government as reflected by Annuar’s comments at the Harakah Daily forum.

Going by Annuar’s mentality and logic, Malaysians should celebrate that we have beaten China, with 44 times Malaysia’s population, not only in cumulative total of Covid-19 cases but in total Covid-19 deaths. As of yesterday, China reported 91,669 Covid-19 cases and 4,636 Covid-19 deaths as against Malaysia’s 716,847 Covid-19 cases and 4,721 Covid-19 deaths.

Going by Annuar’s logic, we have further cause to celebrate for yesterday, we set another record in our worsening Covid-19 situation when we overtook Serbia to be ranked No. 36 among nations with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

We are likely to overtake Jordan by the end of June or early July to be ranked No. 35 when we were ranked No.85 on November 11, 2020 among nations with the most cumulative total of Covid-19 cases.

Annuar’s statistics for the United States and United Kingdom are correct for the past 18 months, except he has not taken into account the recent developments where both United States and United Kingdom have seen sharp drops in Covid-19 cases and deaths, while in Malaysia, the reverse is taking place.

In the past week from June 16 – 23, for example, United States had 83,203 new Covid-19 cases and 2,113 deaths, the UK had 79,480 new Covid-19 cases and 101 deaths as compared to 37,980 new Covid-19 cases and 495 deaths in Malaysia.

Should Malaysia celebrate when in the Our World in Data category of “Biweekly cases per million population”, Malaysia’s score is 2,382.59 – way ahead of United States (507.24) and United Kingdom (1,948.74)?

What is most worrying is how can Malaysia win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic when we have Ministers like Annuar in the Muhyiddin’s Cabinet?

In any country with a decent, competent and responsible Cabinet, Annuar would have been given the sack immediately.

Malaysia needs a “Win the War Against Covid-19 Pandemic” (WACOP) coalition government to save the country from the devastation in lives, economic losses and societal damages of the pandemic.

There should no place in the “Win the War against Covid-19 pandemic” Cabinet for naysayers like Annuar who could see a victory when Malaysia is fighting a losing battle against Covide-19!

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, June 25, 2021)

#kerajaangagal136 — Malaysia tidak akan menang perang melawan Covid-19 jika sikap Annuar Musa mewakili mentaliti kerajaan Muhyiddin

Saya terkejut dan tergamam membaca laporan Malaysiakini berkenaan kenyataan Menteri Wilayah, Annuar Musa dalam forum Harakah Daily berhubung situasi wabak Covid-19.

Menurut Annuar antara petunjuk kerajaan berjaya mengawal pandemik ini adalah apabila orang ramai sudah tidak lagi takut terhadap Covid-19.

Beliau berkata: “Kita mempunyai masalah di mana orang ramai tidak takut dengan Covid-19. Jadi bila mereka tidak takut, ia bermakna ada antara mereka yang fikir ini bukan pandemik.

Tambahnya: “Pada saya itu adalah indication bahawasanya kita berjaya mengawal wabak sehingga dia tidak dianggap wabak oleh sesetengah orang…Itu tanda kejayaan.”

Annuar juga meminta orang ramai membandingkan keadaan di Malaysia dengan negara lain, khususnya negara yang lebih maju teknologi dan sains perubatannya.

Memetik beberapa contoh, beliau berkata Amerika Syarikat setakat ini telah mencatatkan hampir 35 juta kes positif termasuk 615,232 kematian, manakala United Kingdom mencatat lebih 4.5 juta kes dengan 127,000 kematian.

Menurut Annuar, ia merupakan satu lagi petunjuk prestasi Malaysia yang baik berbanding negara-negara lain.

Beliau juga membangkitkan Program Imunisasi Covid-19 Kebangsaan sebagai petunjuk kejayaan kerajaan dalam mengawal pandemik.

“Bagaimana nak kata kita gagal? Dalam keadaan sekarang tiap-tiap empat hari sejuta rakyat diberi suntikan percuma.

“Adakah ini petanda kita gagal?”

Kita mempunyai Kabinet yang cukup hebat — Menteri-menterinya boleh melihat kejayaan dalam kegagalan! Dua perkataan bermain di fikiran saya semasa membaca laporan ini: kakistokrasi dan distopia.

Adakah Annuar sebenarnya contoh daripada Kabinet Muhyiddin yang menganggap Proklamasi Darurat pada 12 Januari 2021 untuk melawan Covid-19 adalah suatu kejayaan besar dan bukannya kegagalan!

Berapa ramai Menteri dalam Kabinet gergasi Muhyiddin yang berfikiran seperti Annuar — berfikiran bahawa kerajaan sedang memenangi peperangan melawan Covid-19 sedangkan kita sebenarnya sedang berhadapan dengan kekalahan?

Malaysia tidak akan menang perang melawan wabak ini jika pemikiran seperti Annuar Musa ini meluas dalam kerajaan Muhyiddin dalam usaha melawan Covid-19.

Amat mengejutkan dan tidak masuk akal bahawa kita mempunyai sebuah kerajaan yang seolah-olah menganggap kegagalan proklamasi darurat sebagai senjata melawan Covid-19 dan mendakwa dasar serta strategi komunikasi untuk mendidik orang ramai tentang bahaya pandemik Covid-19 telah mencapai kejayaan.

Tidak hairanlah negara terjerat dalam masalah yang begitu besar!

Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan menzahirkan kebimbangan tentang kadar kes dan kematian Covid-19 yang begitu tinggi; bahawa sistem kesihatan awam, hospital, dan katil unit rawatan rapi berada di tahap genting ekoran peningkatan kes Covid-19 — bagaimanapun kerisauan ini tidak dirasai oleh pemimpin politik dalam kerajaan hari ini seperti yang digambarkan oleh kenyataan Annuar dalam forum Harakah Daily semalam.

Mengikut logik dan mentaliti Annuar, Malaysia patut meraikan “kejayaan” kita menewaskan China, yang mempunyai jumlah penduduk 44 kali ganda daripada Malaysia, bukan sahaja dalam kategori jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 malah dalam angka kematian akibat wabak itu. Setakat semalam, China mempunyai 91,669 kes Covid-19 dan 4,636 kes kematian berbanding Malaysia dengan 71716,847 kes Covid-19 dan 4,721 kes kematian.

Mengikut logik Annuar juga, kita ada sebab untuk meraikan lagi “kejayaan” ini kerana semalam, kita mencipta rekod baharu apabila kita memintas Serbia untuk berada di kedudukan ke-36 antara negara-negara dengan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 tertinggi.

Kita mungkin akan memintas Jordan menjelang penghujung Jun atau awal Julai untuk berada di kedudukan ke-35 sedangkan kita pernah menduduki tangga ke-85 antara negara-negara dengan jumlah kumulatif kes Covid-19 tertinggi pada 11 November 2020.

Statistik kes di Amerika Syarikat dan United Kingdom sepanjang 18 bulan lalu yang dipetik Annuar dalam forum berkenaan tepat. Pun begitu, beliau tidak mengambil kita perkembangan terbaharu di mana Amerika Syarikat dan United Kingdom telah merekodkan penurunan mendadak dalam kes positif Covid-19 dan kes kematian akibat wabak itu, sementara di Malaysia, perkara sebaliknya pula berlaku.

Sebagai contoh, sepanjang minggu lalu dari 16 hingga 23 Jun, Amerika Syarikat merekodkan 82,203 kes baharu Covid-19 dengan 2,113 kes kematian dan UK merekodkan 79,480 kes baharu Covid-19 dengan 101 kes kematian berbanding 37,980 kes baharu Covid-19 dan 495 kes kematian di Malaysia.

Perlukah Malaysia meraikan “kejayaan” apabila kita mendapat markah 2,382.59 dalam kategori “kes per sejuta penduduk setiap dua minggu” seperti yang disiarkan dalam laman web Our World in Data — jauh lebih tinggi berbanding Amerika Syarikat (507.24) dan United Kingdom (1,948.74)?

Apa yang lebih membimbangkan adalah bagaimana Malaysia boleh menang perang melawan pandemik Covid-19 apabila kita mempunyai Menteri seperti Annuar Musa dalam Kabinet Muhyiddin.

Dalam sesebuah negara dengan Kabinet yang baik, cekap dan bertanggungjawab, Annuar sudah tentu akan dipecat serta merta.

Malaysia memerlukan kerajaan gabungan “Menang Perang Melawan Covid-19” untuk menyelamatkan rakyat dan negara daripada kehancuran dan kerugian ekonomi.

Tiada ada tempat dalam Kabinet “Menang Perang Melawan Covid-19” untuk orang seperti Annuar yang nampak kejayaan sedangkan Malaysia sedang mengalami kekalahan dalam peperangan melawan Covid-19!

(Kenyataan Media Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Jumaat, 25 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 25 June 2021, 8:31 am and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal137 – The Yang di Pertuan Agong can constitutionally refuse to assent to any extension of the  Emergency beyond  August 1  under the Malaysian Constitution and  respecting the conclusions of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on June 16

(Tatal ke bawah untuk kenyataan versi BM)

We are seven weeks away from a full-blown constitutional crisis never seen before in Malaysian history.

There are no signs that the Cabinet is prepared to accept the two conclusions of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on the Covid-18 pandemic on June 16, 2021 – firstly, that Parliament and the State Assemblies meet “as soon as possible, and in the case of Parliament, before August 1, 2021; and secondly, no need for any extension of the emergency beyond August 1, 2021.

There was no emergency Cabinet meeting following the Conference of Rulers special meeting nor any indication after the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 23rd June 2021 that Parliament will meet before August 1 and that emergency will not be extended after August 1, 2021.

The two PAS Ministers who floated the balloons that the phrase “as soon as possible” meant by the Conference of Rulers special meeting was in line with the Prime Minister’s National Recovery Plan where Parliament could meet in September or October if the country falls into Phase Three of the exit plan if three conditions are met appear to be acting on the directives from Seri Perdana.

What would happen if Parliament is not convened before August 1 and the Prime Minister advises the Yang di Pertuan Agong to extend the emergency beyond August 1, 2021?

Can the Yang di Pertuan Agong refuses to promulgate the continuation of the emergency as he once did last October?

I agree with one of the nation’s leading constitutional law experts, Tunku Abdul Rahman chair and constitutional law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi, that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong acts on the advice of the prime minister, so long as the office bearer has the support and confidence of the Dewan Rakyat.

In an online lecture titled “Understanding the Malaysian Constitution”, he said this is due to Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution which says:

“If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.”

He said that while the King largely acts upon the advice of the prime minister, the definition of “prime minister” must be examined.

He said: “Does it mean any person holding the office, or does it mean a person who holds the office and who enjoys the support of the members of the Dewan Rakyat?

“While the Agong is bound by the advice of the ‘prime minister’, the word means a prime minister with a solid base, legitimacy and support in the Dewan Rakyat under Article 43(4) of the Constitution”.

The country’s founding fathers were honourable leaders who never envisaged that there would be a Prime Minister who would resort to the subterfuge of avoiding a “confidence motion” in Parliament and tried to evade the test in Article 43(4) of the Constitution.

I agree with Professor Shad Saleem that in such an event, there is a need to interpret Articles 40(1) and 43(4) in a new light.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister has given an implicit undertaking not to invoke Article 40 of the Constitution when enacting Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 on January 11, 2021 and establishing an independent special committee “to advise the Yang di Pertuan Agong on the continuing existence of the grave emergency threatening the security, economic life and public order of the Federation arising from the epidemic of an infection disease, namely Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)”.

As a result, the Yang di Pertuan Agong need not have to act on the advice of the Cabinet or a designated Minister under Article 40(1).

To avoid a full-blown constitutional crisis, the Cabinet should convene Parliament before August 1, 2021.

It has been pointed out that the 28-day notice normally required for the convening of Parliament can be dispensed with under Standing Orders 9(2)(a) and 11(2).

I can still remember the urgent Parliamentary meeting in January 1979 when MPs were given two days’ notice for an urgent parliamentary meeting as a result of the Privy Council decision in London on Teh Cheng Poh case

In July 2014, MPs were given three days’ notice to convene a special meeting of the Dewan Rakyat for one day on the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Both the Teh Cheng Poh Privy Council decision and the tragic downing of MH17 airliner are no comparison to the magnitude and enormity of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused more Covid-19 cases and fatalities than China, which had 44 times’ Malaysia’s population, and the devastation of the Malaysian economy and society in the past 18 months with no end in sight.

At the present rate of Covid-19 infection and fatalities, by August 1, we will be knocking on the door to join the “millionaire club of nations” comprising 28 nations with a cumulative total of than a million Covid-19 cases with a toll exceeding 6,000 deaths.

Let us subordinate all our political differences to this existential threat posed by Covid-19 pandemic that this is why I proposed last week for a one or two-year political moratorium to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.#

Barisan Nasional MPs have issued a statement that they will not support a motion of no confidence when Parliament is convened.

There are also no plans for the Pakatan Harapan to move any no confidence motion in Parliament.

The Sultan of Johore spoke for all Malaysians when he expressed his sadness that the people are living in hardship, fear and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic and his disappointment that until today, the Covid-19 pandemic has yet to be resolved.

Malaysia needs a “Win the War Against Covid-19 Pandemic” (WACOP) coalition government to save the country from the devastation in lives, economic losses and societal damages of the pandemic.

The Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin should overcome his “Parliamentitis” – his fear and obsession about not convening Parliament – and convene Parliament before August 1 which is the clear wish of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and to fulfil the wishes of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on June 16 not to extend the Emergency on August 1.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, June 25, 2021)

#kerajaangagal137 — Yang di Pertuan Agong boleh menolak untuk memberi perkenan kepada pelanjutan darurat selepas 1 Ogos secara sah di bawah peruntukan Perlembagaan Malaysia

Kita hanya ada tujuh minggu lagi sebelum berhadapan dengan krisis berperlembagaan pada skala yang belum pernah dilihat sebelum ini dalam sejarah negara.

Tidak ada sebarang petanda yang Kabinet bersedia untuk menerima dua kesimpulan mesyuarat khas Majlis Raja-raja pada 16 Jun 2021 — pertamanya bahawa sidang Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan Negeri hendaklah dipanggil semula “secepat mungkin”, untuk Parlimen, sebelum 1 Ogos 2021 dan keduanya tidak ada keperluan untuk darurat dilanjutkan selepas 1 Ogos 2021.

Tidak ada sebarang mesyuarat tergempar Kabinet selepas mesyuarat khas Majlir Raja-raja atau apa-apa petanda selepas mesyuarat mingguan Kabinet pada 23 Jun yang Parlimen akan dipanggil bersidang sebelum 1 Ogos dan darurat tidak akan dilanjutkan selepas 1 Ogos 2021.

Dua orang Menteri PAS yang mengatakan “secepat mungkin” seperti yang dititahkan oleh Majlis Raja-raja selari dengan Pelan Pemulihan Negara yang diumumkan oleh Perdana Menteri yang memperuntukkan persidangan Parlimen pada bulan September atau Oktober selari dengan Fasa Ketiga Pelan ini kelihatan seperti berbuat demikian atas arah daripada Seri Perdana.

Apakah yang akan terjadi sekiranya Parlimen tidak dipanggil bersidang sebelum 1 Ogos dan Perdana Menteri menasihatkan Yang di Pertuan Agong untuk melanjutkan darurat selepas 1 Ogos 2021?

Boleh baginda menolak untuk melanjutkan perintah darurat ini seperti pada bulan Oktober lepas?

Saya bersetuju dengan salah seorang pakar perlembagaan negara, penyandang kerusi Tunku Abdul Rahman dan professor undang-undang perlembagaan Shad Saleem Faruqi, yang mengatakan bahawa Yang di Pertuan Agong bertindak atas nasihat Perdana Menteri, selagi mana Perdana Menteri mendapat sokongan majoriti Ahli Dewan Rakyat.

Dalam satu syarahan atas talian yang bertajuk “Memahami Perlembagaan Malaysia”, beliau berkata perkara ini disebabkan oleh Perkara 43(4) Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang mengatakan:

“Jika Perdana Menteri tidak lagi mendapat kepercayaan majoriti ahli Dewan Rakyat, maka

Perdana Menteri hendaklah meletakkan jawatan Jemaah Menteri melainkan jika atas

permintaannya Parlimen dibubarkan oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”

Beliau mengatakan, walaupun Yang di Pertuan Agong perlu bertindak atas nasihat perdana menteri, takrifan “perdana menteri” ini perlu diteliti.

Beliau mengatakan: “Adakah ia bermakna sesiapa sahaja yang menjawat jawatan tersebut, atau adakah ia merujuk kepada orang yang menjawat jawatan tersebut dan mendapat sokongan majoriti Ahli Dewan Rakyat?

“Walaupun Agong perlu mengikut nasihat ‘perdana menteri’, perkataan tersebut merujuk kepada perdana menteri yang mempunyai asas yang jelas, keabsahan, dan sokongan di Dewan Rakyat di bawah Perkara 43(4) Perlembagaan Persekutuan”.

Tokoh penubuhan negara kita terdiri daripada kalangan mereka yang bermaruah yang tidak pernah terfikir yang kita akan mempunyai seorang Perdana Menteri yang akan mencuba untuk menggunakan tipu helah untuk mengelakkan “undi tidak percaya” di Parlimen dan cuba untuk mengelakkan peruntukan Perkara 43(4) Perlembagaan.

Saya bersetuju dengan Professor Shad Saleem bahawa dalam keadaan seperti ini, terdapat keperluan untuk menafsir Perkara 40(1) dan 43(4) dari sudut yang berbeza.

Tambahan lagi, Perdana Menteri sendiri telah memberikan janji tersirat untuk tidak menggunakan Perkara 40(1) Perlembagaan dalam menguatkuasakan Ordinan Darurat (Kuasa-kuasa Perlu) 2021 pada 11 Januari 2021 dan telah pun menubuhkan sebuah jawatankuasa bebas khas untuk “menasihati Yang di Pertuan Agong mengenai suatu darurat besar sedang berlaku yang mengancam keselamatan, kehidupan ekonomi dan ketenteraman awam di dalam Persekutuan berikutan wabak penyakit berjangkit, iaitu Penyakit Koronavirus 2019 (Covid-19)”.

Oleh itu, Yang di Pertuan Agong tidak perlu untuk bertindak atas nasihat Kabinet atau mana-mana Menteri yang dilantik di bawah Perkara 40(1).

Untuk mengelakkan krisis perlembagaan, Kabinet perlu memanggil sidang Parlimen sebelum 1 Ogos 2021.

Sebelum ini, telah dibangkitkan perkara bahawa notis 28 hari untuk persidangan parlimen boleh diketepikan mengikut peruntukan Peraturan Mesyuarat 9(2)(a) dan 11(2).

Saya masih lagi ingat persidangan tergempar Parlimen pada bulan Januari 1979 apabila Ahli-ahli Parlimen diberikan notis dua hari untuk bersidang susulan daripada keputusan Majlis Privy di London mengenai kes Teh Cheng Poh.

Pada bulan Julai 2014, Ahli-ahli Parlimen diberikan notis selama tiga hari untuk sidang tergempar Dewan Rakyat selama sehari selepas kejadian tragis kapal terbang Malaysia Airlines MH17 ditembak jatuh.

Kedua-dua kes Majlis Privy Teh Cheng Poh dan kes tragis MH17 tidak dibandingkan dengan bencana Covid-19 yang sedang melanda negara kita sekarang. Wabak ini telah meragut lebih ramai nyawa di negara kita berbanding dengan China, yang mempunyai 44 kali ganda lebih penduduk, dan juga membawa kerosakan kepada ekonomi dan struktur sosial dalam 18 bulan yang lepas dalam negara kita.

Pada kadar semasa jangkitan dan kematian akibat Covid-19 ini, pada 1 Ogos, kita akan menyertai “kelab jutawan” yang buat masa ini ada 28 buah negara dengan jumlah kes terkumpul lebih daripada sejuta dan dengan lebih daripada 6,000 kematian.

Marilah kita ketepikan perbezaan politik buat sementara waktu untuk melawan ancaman eksistensial yang dibawa oleh wabak Covid-19 ini dan kerana inilah dua minggu yang lalu, saya telah cadangkan moratorium politik selama dua tahun untuk memenangi perang melawan Covid-19.

Ahli-ahli Parlimen Barisan Nasional telah mengeluarkan kenyataan yang mereka tidak akan menyokong sebarang usul undi tidak percaya apabila Parlimen bersidang.

Tidak ada sebarang rancangan daripada Pakatan Harapan untuk membawa usul undi tidak percaya terhadap Muhyiddin.

Sultan Johor bercakap bagi pihak semua rakyat Malaysia apabila baginda menzahirkan kesedihan baginda melihat rakyat hidup dalam kesusahan, kebimbangan, dan kerisauan semasa berhadapan dengan wabak Covid-19 dan juga kekecewaan baginda apabila sehingga hari ini, wabak Covid-19 ini masih lagi belum dapat diselesaikan.

Malaysia memerlukan kerajaan gabungan “Menang Perang Melawan Covid-19” untuk menyelamatkan rakyat dan negara daripada kehancuran dan kerugian ekonomi.

Perdana Menteri Muhyiddin Yassin perlu mengatasi masalah “Parlimentitis” — ketakutan dan kerisauan untuk memanggil sidang Parlimen — beliau dan memanggil semula sidang Parlimen secepat mungkin sebelum 1 Ogos, yang merupakan hasrat jelas Yang di Pertuan Agong dan mesyuarat khas Majlis Raja-raja Melayu pada 16 Jun supaya darurat tidak perlu dilanjutkan selepas 1 Ogos.

(Kenyataan media (2) Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Jumaat, 25 Jun 2021)

                This entry was posted on Friday, 25 June 2021, 12:48 pm and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal138 – Judges and not the Attorney-General decide on what is the law in Malaysia, and the last two Attorney-Generals have shown that one AG can disagree with another AG

Firstly, it must noted that under the Malaysian Constitution, the Attorney-General is the principal legal adviser of the government and not a judge who lays down the law of the land. This applies even when the Attorney-General was a former Federal Court judge.

As illustrated by the two previous Attorney-Generals under different administrations, one Attorney-General can disagree with another Attorney-General  and there is nothing sacrosanct or final about the views of the Attorney-General on what is the law in the land.

As one leading  lawyer, who has disputed the Attorney-General’s interpretation of the Constitution yesterday, pointed out, there is Article 130 in the Constitution  where the government can refer to the Federal Court for its opinion any question as to the effect of any provision of the Constitution which the Attorney-General has not availed the government.

Secondly, it is pertinent that the Attorney-General Idris Harun was referring  to the convening of Parliament and not to  the extension of the emergency beyond August 1, 2021.

There is no serious suggestion that the Yang di Pertuan Agong  unilaterally convene Parliament although there is serious suggestion that the Yang di Pertuan Agong, under the present circumstances,  need not act on advice of the Cabinet or a designated Minister if he is asked to extend emergency beyond August 1, 2021 because of nagging questions about legitimacy and whether the Prime Minister commands the confidence of the majority of elected Members of Parliament.

In such circumstances, I would agree with one of the nation’s leading constitutional law experts, Tunku Abdul Rahman chair and constitutional law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi, that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong acts on the advice of the prime minister, so long as the office bearer has the support and confidence of the Dewan Rakyat.

In an online lecture titled “Understanding the Malaysian Constitution”, he said this is due to Article 43(4) of the Federal Constitution which says:

“If the Prime Minister ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, then, unless at his request the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves Parliament, the Prime Minister shall tender the resignation of the Cabinet.”

He said that while the King largely acts upon the advice of the prime minister, the definition of “prime minister” must be examined.

He said: “Does it mean any person holding the office, or does it mean a person who holds the office and who enjoys the support of the members of the Dewan Rakyat?

“While the Agong is bound by the advice of the ‘prime minister’, the word means a prime minister with a solid base, legitimacy and support in the Dewan Rakyat under Article 43(4) of the Constitution”.

The country’s founding fathers were honourable leaders who never envisaged that there would be a  Prime Minister who would  resort to the subterfuge of avoiding a “confidence motion” in Parliament and tried to evade the test in Article 43(4) of the Constitution.

I agree with Professor Shad Saleem that in such an event, there is a need to interpret Articles 40(1) and 43(4) in a new light.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister had given an implicit undertaking not to invoke Article 40 of the Constitution when enacting Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 on January 11, 2021 and establishing an independent special committee “to advise the Yang di Pertuan Agong on the continuing existence of the grave emergency threatening the security, economic life and public order of the Federation arising from the epidemic of an infection disease, namely Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)”.

As a result, the Yang di Pertuan Agong need not have to act on the advice of the Cabinet or a designated Minister under Article 40(1).

Did  the Attorney-General Idris Harun advise the Prime Minister to enact such a provision in the  Essential (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 on the Special Independent Emergency Committee and what is the  constitutional effect of such a provision?

To avoid a full-blown constitutional crisis, I had suggested that the Prime Minister should convene  Parliament before August 1, 2021.

With regard to  the 28-day notice normally required for the convening of Parliament, it has been pointed out that this  can be dispensed with under Standing Orders 9(2)(a) and 11(2).

I can still remember the urgent Parliamentary meeting in January 1979 when MPs were given two days’ notice as a result of the Privy Council decision in London on Teh Cheng Poh case

In July 2014, MPs were given three days’ notice to convene a special meeting of the Dewan Rakyat for one day on the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Both the Teh Cheng Poh Privy Council decision and the tragic downing of MH17 airliner are no comparison to the magnitude and enormity of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused more Covid-19 cases and fatalities than China, which had 44 times’ Malaysia’s population, and the devastation of the Malaysian economy and society in the past 18 months with no end in sight.

At the present rate of Covid-19 infection and fatalities,  by August 1, we will be knocking on the door to join the “millionaire club of nations” now  comprising 28 nations with a cumulative total of more than a million Covid-19 cases and  with a toll exceeding 6,000 deaths.

It could be that Muhyiddin Yassin has decided not to extend the emergency beyond August 1 and then to convene Parliament, instead of doing so before August 1.

If Muhyiddin is content with such pyrhhic victory, so be it. But he would pay a heavy price in forfeiting whatever little credibility and legitimacy left of his government in this process of incurring the displeasure of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Rulers, and even more important, the wrath of the people of Malaysia.

Malaysia needs a “Win the War Against Covid-19 Pandemic” (WACOP) coalition government to save the country from the devastation in lives, economic losses and societal damages of the pandemic.

Yesterday, a medical expert warned of “an impending, massive fifth wave” in Malaysia  which “may be so big as to make the current one look pale in contrast”.

Let us subordinate all our political differences to this existential threat posed by Covid-19 pandemic. This is  why I proposed on 17th June  for a one or two-year political moratorium to win the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

I believe that  the Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin should  overcome his “Parliamentitis” – his fear and obsession about not convening Parliament – and convene Parliament before August 1 which is the clear wish of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and to fulfil the wishes of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on June 16 and  not to extend the Emergency on August 1.

Both the two conclusions of the Conference of Rulers special meeting on June 16 – that Parliament and the State Assemblies meet “as soon as possible” and no need for any extension of the emergency beyond  August 1 – are  fully in line with the wishes of people of Malaysia for Malaysians  want an administration which can reverse the tides of defeat to  win the war against Covid-19 pandemic after a dismal performance especially after the proclamation of emergency to combat the

Covid-19 pandemic on January 11, 2021.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, June 26, 2021)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 26 June 2021, 8:15 am and is filed under
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#kerajaangagal139 – Zafrul would face censure if he could not resolve the problems of the contract doctors in two weeks

The Finance Minister, Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz would face censure if he could not resolve the problems of the contract doctors within two weeks.

Tengku had agreed to  expedite solutions for the plight of contract medical officers, amid some doctors calling for a strike beginning July 1.

It is a reflection of the red tape, bureaucracy and indifference of the Cabinet  that despite years of discussing the problems faced by house officers, medical officers and specialists, these problems remain unresolved.

Members of Parliament have received the open letter from the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) Section concerning House Officers, Medical Officers and Specialists (Schomos) to all MPs on June 23 which highlighted  the lack of job security and opportunities for career progression faced by junior contract doctors, as well as other outstanding issues.

Unless Tengku Zafrul can deliver on his promise to resolve the problems in the open letter to MP in two weeks, Members of Parliament should demand proper action from the Cabinet.

Already,  there has been a severe lack of human resource in the public healthcare system for years, as shown by the high levels of burnout syndrome among healthcare workers, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is a problem which the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should give his personal attention and it is a reflection of his poor leadership that he had not done so.

(Media Statement (2) by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, 26th June 2021)

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 26 June 2021, 12:12 pm and is filed under
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