Malaysians are getting anxious and worried this week again. We are all glued to our devices every evening waiting for the announcement of Covid-19 numbers. We were checking everyday whether our place is going to be affected by the possible next wave of the Covid-19 infections.
Since when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was lifted, generally Malaysians have slackened when it comes to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of preventing the spread of the pandemic. Frankly, if anyone were to ask me, I myself have felt relaxed a little too. We were less worried compared to during the MCO period. But this is changing now.
The numbers announced every evening by our respected general, Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham are spiking and rising now.
Although the numbers may be contributed by many other people, we cannot deny the fact that there are a significant number of them which are caused by politicians. It is by no coincidence that so many of the politicians from high profile leaders to grassroot members are infected by Covid-19. It is by no coincidence that they also have just come back from Sabah’s state election campaigning.
Worst is, some of them take it as though those are battle scars, and something to be proud of. They take it as though it is a sign that they are one of the greatest fighters in their political party. Needless to say, many of those ‘infected warriors’ showed off their pink wristbands or their hospitalization on social media.
Regardless of who or which political party, this power struggle since the beginning of the year has caused us a political uncertainty and an economic setback. The pandemic has just added the burden even more. And then we have the occasional negotiations, announcements and uncertainties that have worsened the situation. The announcement by Anwar Ibrahim that he has the numbers surely has fired up some politicians to go round and meet up with each other. Of course, the power struggle that has caused Sabah state elections has just added the spread of the Covid-19 even at a more efficient pace.
The politicians and leaders have been urging and claiming that the people are also the frontliners now, and they should play their role to stop the pandemic. But it seems that they are doing the total opposite way. This political maneuvering and power struggle should stop, and don’t even think about Sarawak state elections or even the General Elections for now.
The priority is to solve the biggest issues of today first.
We really should focus on curbing the pandemic, preventing another wave and rebuilding the nation’s economy. The people have already suffered since early this year, we cannot allow ourselves to go through this one more time.
This article is published in Chinese in Kwong Wah Yit Poh dated 6 October 2020.