KUCHING, Aug 22 — Politicians and those aspiring to be one should stop politicking and focus on assisting the people amid the Covid-19 pandemic, said Senior Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
He said what Malaysians and Sarawakians needed the most now was for the economy to be restored and their lives returned to normal after the various stages of the movement control orders (MCO).
“Those who want politics — stop first. Now is the time that we work together on how to handle this economic and health crisis we are facing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is what the people need now, hence that is why we the government are focusing our efforts in helping the people who are struggling due to the pandemic,” he said.
Fadillah was speaking at the ‘Merdeka@Komunity’ programme held at Lorong Piala 3 at Taman Sukma in Petra Jaya here this morning.
He told some 100 residents of Lorong Piala 3 to stay united and support the state and federal governments in their efforts to restore the economy of the state and country post-pandemic.
Fadillah said the government was well aware that many people were financially and economically affected by the MCO due to the pandemic, and thus the state and federal governments have come up with various assistance to help the people to ease their burden in facing their struggles.
“We are well aware that some businesses have to close down, and some people lost their jobs. Therefore we (governments) are focusing our efforts in restoring the economy and to get the people’s lives back to normal.
“But we all must be united and help each other in facing these challenges,” he said.
Fadillah said even the governments themselves were facing challenges because when the economy is declining, tax payments also decline.
On the global scale, he said Malaysia was facing challenges in exporting because many countries worldwide were still closing their borders.
“Therefore we have to find creative solutions on how we can find our income so that we can continue to administer the country at the same time assist the people as well as sustain developments we have planned,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said in the spirit of unity, the people should support the good effort the government is doing to help the people.
“What is good we support, and what needs to be improved we improve,” she said. — Borneo Post Online
