KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — The Malaysian government should now focus on making sure its citizens stay alive in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak, and should take on the approach of “whatever it takes” in the war to curb Covid-19, DAP MP Lim Kit Siang has said.
Lim agreed with economist Muhammed Abdul Khalid’s view that now is not the time for the government to be stingy with funds, as there is little point in seeing positive economic growth if citizens continue to perish, and the country in chaos.
“The country’s priority now is to ensure that Malaysians stay alive. This is not the time to think about the fiscal deficit, national debt, economic growth rate, credit rating agencies’ perceptions or politicking,” Lim said in a statement today, echoing Muhammed’s views.
“For this reason, I call on the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to immediately adopt a new government motto in the war against Covid 19 — whatever it takes to save people’s jobs and livelihoods,” the Iskandar Puteri MP added.
Lim said it was also for this reason that he had suggested that the remainder of the 10 million face masks from China that are being brought in should be given free to Malaysians, after priority is given to the frontliners in the war against Covid-19.
“It is in the spirit of this new motto that the government must give top priority to ensure that any form of aid to the health and medical sectors must be made without limits instead of seeing government health workers turning garbage bags into protective suits because of shortage of supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE).
“An order should go out to immediately increase the production of medical supplies and equipment that hospitals, health systems, physicians, nurses and all front line providers so desperately need,” he added.
In his statement, he had noted the severity of the situation with 10 deaths so far recorded in Malaysia due to Covid-19.
As of yesterday 5pm, Malaysia has recorded a total cumulative tally of 1,306 Covid-19 cases, including 139 patients who have fully recovered.
