KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — DAP MP Lim Kit Siang today urged the Cabinet to summon a special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat next week to discuss measures to dial back the country’s rising Covid-19 cases as infections and deaths continue to surge in the new year.
He said it was urgent as the infection was speeding up rather than slowing down, and that the situation may spiral out of control before the scheduled sitting on March 8.
“When the Dewan Rakyat adjourned on December 17, 2020, there was a cumulative total of 89,132 Covid-19 cases and 432 fatalities. In these 17 days (December 17 — January 3), there had been 31,686 new Covid-19 cases and 69 new fatalities.
“It had taken 10 months to reach 31,000 Covid-19 cases (as on October 31, 2020, the cumulative total was 31,548 cases), but this number was reached in the last 17 days!” he said in a statement.
The Iskandar Puteri MP expressed disappointment with the Perikatan Nasional administration for not implementing an “all-of-government” and “whole-of-society” strategy against the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the special Parliament sitting should also discuss the government’s Covid-19 vaccination plans now that they are available in the market.
He highlighted the increasing misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines as well as the anti-vaccination campaigns in the country.
Yesterday, the Health Ministry reported 1,741 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 120,818.
Seven more people also died from Covid-19 yesterday, bringing the number of total deaths from Covid-19 in Malaysia to 501.
