Covid-19: Pakatan-led Penang pledges full cooperation with Putrajaya during Emergency

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 12 — Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) state government will cooperate fully with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government in the battle against pandemic following the declaration of a nationwide Emergency.

Chow had earlier chaired a meeting on the return of the movement control order (MCO) here and took note of the Emergency proclamation this morning.

“We will give our full cooperation in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement.

He also announced that 100 private medical facilities in Penang had offered to help with inoculation for free, once the Covid-19 vaccines are ready for distribution.

He said the private clinics were under the Private Medical Practitioner Association.

He also said the state’s special security committee will take up the free vaccination initiative with the Health Ministry then.

“Among the initiatives is mass screening of workers to be conducted by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Penang,” he said.

He said Penang has recorded three-figure cases since the end of 2020 and that there are now eight active clusters in Penang as of January 11.

Penang has proposed two low-risk Covid-19 treatment centres and quarantine centres through a January 11 letter to the Disaster Management Agency.

“We have proposed two locations, the Pusat Kecemerlangan Mara in Jawi, Southern Seberang Perai and Penang Pesta Site in Sungai Nibong on the island with an application for additional allocation from the National Disaster Relief Fund,” he said.

He added that both proposed locations can accommodate about 1,000 patients each.

During the MCO, Chow said a total 39 roadblocks will be set up in the state involving 1,142 officers from the police, army, Rela and civil defence.

“We will be referring to the SOPs released by the ministry for further guidance from time to time,” he said.

He called on all to cooperate and work together in combating the pandemic.

“In terms of public health and economy, we have to admit that it is difficult to achieve a balance between the two aspects,” he said.

He said choices had to be made in certain situations and that without stable public health, economic growth will not be achieved.  

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah consented to a state of Emergency in the country until August 1, or until the current wave of Covid-19 infections subsided.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has said that there will not be any curfew and it is not a military coup so the civilian government will continue to function.