KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 — Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang has called on the Cabinet today to set a special Dewan Rakyat sitting in January to check the “runaway” third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic here.
In a statement today, the DAP veteran said the 1,925 new Covid-19 cases reported in the country yesterday has put Malaysia as 35th among countries in the world with the highest daily increase of Covid-19 cases.
“The last Cabinet meeting of the year today should try to rectify its mistakes in the war against Covid-19 pandemic and should summon a special Parliament in January 2021 to address the runaway situation in the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic with a new ‘all-of-government’ and ‘whole-of-society’ strategy and to establish a Select Committee on Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Lim said the matter should be at the top of the Cabinet agenda today, and a new strategy to bring the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic under control should be announced after its meeting.
He said Malaysia is now among the worst-hit countries in Asean, pointing out that the number of Covid-19 cases here have surpassed Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
“What has gone wrong with the public health system in Malaysia, as the country should be among the best instead of being among the worst in Asean.
“Health experts are calling for a different strategy in Malaysia’s fight against Covid-19 to avoid further strain on the public health system,” he said.
Yesterday, the Health Ministry announced that 108,615 people have been infected with Covid-19 since the arrival of the coronavirus in Malaysia.
This surpasses the 58,542 cases in Singapore; 6,440 cases in Thailand; 1,454 cases in Vietnam; 364 cases in Cambodia; and 41 cases in Laos.
Malaysia also currently has a higher Covid-19 infection rate than Myanmar and the Philippines.
